Asylum
by subaruxkamui4ever
Summary: Seto Jou yaoi, prequel to Clear Vision. Zahra seeks asylum in the temple of the Pharaoh, having nowhere else to go, and Sethe is forced to take him in, unaware of what Zahra holds inside. Past life romance set in Ancient Egypt. Complete.
1. Hereret

Asylum

By Katsuya Kaiba

* * *

He turned his head to look behind him quickly, making sure that the path ahead of him was clear before he did so. There they were… 

He'd lost three of them, but two of the guards had managed to keep up with his haphazard path of escape, and they saw him as he looked back and began shouting after him once more. He picked his feet up even higher and pushed on, running as fast as he possibly could without destroying what lay in front of him. He ran around crowds of people and dashed quickly in between others, trying his very best to lose the remainder of his pursuers. There was no time to stand still and search for them in his footsteps, but he ran through an open area momentarily and looked back.

There was no one. Well, there was no one running angrily in his direction, anyway. The market was still overflowing with what looked to be thousands of people, but none of them paid him any mind, and he brought his footsteps to a slow halt and paused, just for a moment. He would have to find the place he sought soon, very soon, but for right now, he had to breathe. He bent over and placed his hands flat on his knees and took huge lungfuls of air, spitting sand out of his mouth between breaths. It couldn't be helped, it was in the air and he gritted his teeth against it and stood up. His lungs still ached, but it had to be enough and he immediately took off running again, this time at a slightly slower pace. He was just past the edge of town now and the palace stood tall and silent to his right, but he knew that he had no business there. He had to find the temple.

The soles of his feet began to sting, and as he jogged in what he hoped was the right direction he felt the rays of the sun reflected back up at him from the sand beneath his toes, and he tried to step lightly so as not to burn his feet. He hadn't noticed it before…but he had been rather busy. He took one last glance into the town square and froze in his footsteps. Squinting through the high afternoon sun he saw them, the last two guards, and they saw him as well. They came out of the crowd and looked all around, and he took off running again but they had seen him, and he knew it. He knew that they would be in the place that he had been standing in mere moments, and he dug his feet into the sand and ran, ignoring the heat and the sweat and the yelling that rung loudly in his ears, and the promise of the punishment that lay within. He knew exactly how much trouble he would be in if he were caught, and he refused to allow that to happen.

He hadn't ever run so quickly in his life, and although he knew that his muscles were shaking from exhaustion, the adrenaline in his veins drove him forward and he ran across the palace grounds and turned a corner, having no idea where he was or where his destination lay, but he prayed to each and every god that he could remember that this was the right path. There wasn't any way for him to know, he had never visited the temple, never been allowed to, and to be honest he had never once cared to…until today. Today, he'd realized, was his one chance, his single hope for escape, and while he had no idea what would become of him if he were actually granted the chance he was searching for, he knew that it couldn't be any worse than what his life had already become. Anything at all would be a step forward, and he took huge strides in that direction, chanting through frantic breaths in hopes that he would make it there in time.

He lifted his eyes from his feet as he rounded the corner and stared upwards as he ran, and a brightly beaming smile tore across his face and he cried out in sheer exhilaration…he'd done it. He then glanced behind him quickly, seeing his pursuers not too far behind him but they had a different look in their eyes, and he thought that maybe they knew what he was up to and they weren't sure if there was anything they could do to stop it. He turned back and faced the temple, knowing that if they were considering failure as an option, he had a chance. It wasn't so far now, the temple steps were so close, he could see the cracks and the imperfections in the stone, and if he lost the fight now, he wouldn't ever forgive himself. His knees threatened to give suddenly but he cringed through it and pushed himself onward. He wouldn't dare give up now, not with freedom so close to his grasp he could nearly feel it's cool breeze on his skin. Just as few more steps…as soon as his feet hit the steps, he knew it was all over. No one could touch him then.

He could hear the hurried footfalls behind him kicking the sand in the air in their haste, but they just weren't quick enough, and his toes curled around the edge of the very first step and he dashed upward two steps at a time, crying out the name of his desire in victory. When his pursuers heard what he claimed, they slowed down and followed him up the steps at a more leisurely pace, no longer in such a hurry. They knew that there was more to it that just that, but they also knew that their quarry didn't, and they paused just outside the temple entrance and waited to see what would become of him.

"Asylum!"

He caught his foot on the last step and tumbled clumsily through the entryway, but it didn't matter to him and he lay on the stone floor and stared upwards, his lungs feeling scorched. His chest trembled with the excitement and the pressure, and he could feel his heart thumping wildly in his chest, but he didn't care…he'd won. He'd made it. He hadn't even believed that he would, really, it was a longshot and a guarantee, for he knew that if he hadn't succeeded here today, he would never have seen tomorrow. Either fate would have pleased him just fine. He would have rather been dead than to continue on the way he had been, and while he knew that his feelings were somewhat unreasonable for a person of his status, he didn't care. And he didn't have to care anymore.

He smiled and closed his eyes, sprawled out on the temple floor like that and he laughed to himself, knowing that he must look ridiculous. He knew that he was dirty, and now he was covered in sweat and sand and whatever else lay on the floor of the temple, but it was nothing to him, and he placed his hand over his chest in an attempt to quiet his rapidly pulsing heartbeat. He couldn't believe that he had made it all the way here.

"Can I help you?"

He opened one eye cautiously. Whoever had just offered their help sure hadn't sounded as though they meant it. Standing just above his head and looking down in mild amusement was what he assumed to be one of the temple priests, an assumption based on what he had heard about priests in stories told to him by people who knew and had been to a temple before. This guy looked like he fit the bill perfectly, although he was far younger than he had been expecting, perhaps not even so much older than he himself was. He opened his other eye and smiled at the priest, forgetting about his rude tone and speaking to him breathlessly, pointing at the guards who waited just outside the temple doorway.

"…Asylum." He took another deep breath and continued, letting his hand fall to the floor in exhaustion. "I…will you…" He realized at that moment that he had never bothered to find out what the proper way to ask for asylum might be, far too concerned instead with the actual promise of something so beautiful it had to be a dream. But it wasn't, and he was here, and he smiled as brightly as he could to the priest and tried again, pulling himself up off the floor and standing upright as politely as he could manage without falling over once again. "Will you please…grant me asylum?"

He blinked nervously when the priest didn't respond right away, and wondered briefly if he had ever heard of anyone being denied the request. He didn't think so…but from the smug look he was receiving at the moment he thought that there might be a slight possibility of rejection. He felt his blood freeze suddenly in his veins, and he clasped his hands together and looked at the priest with wide and fearful eyes, to which the priest responded to by frowning and folding his arms over his chest. The priest's frigid and unfeeling blue eyes looked him over slowly from head to toe in a judging manner, and he began to feel as though he weren't dressed for this sort of occasion, although there wasn't a whole lot that he was able to do about that. He had absolutely nothing at all to his name, save the bracelets on his wrists and ankles to denote the sort of thing that he was.

"No…I have no use for someone like you. Now, get out of my temple." The priest turned on his heel and began to walk away slowly, and before he knew what he was doing he had already taken the first step forward and he grabbed the priest by his shoulder and stepped into his path. He immediately wished that he had not done so, because the silent rage that poured forth from the priest's eyes was almost too much for him to bear, and he felt like running away again. But he stood his ground and clenched his fists, knowing deep down that there was no place left for him to run to. No one would hide him, and no one would care, and this priest just didn't understand that. And who was he, anyway, to deny him of his right? He knew that it was something that the temples were required to do, and this one was especially known for it because it was the temple of the pharaoh himself. True, very few people were lucky enough to make it here, but he had been so lucky. And now this guy was just going to turn him away, this kid who wasn't ever really old enough to be a priest in the first place? He wasn't entirely sure of how old you were supposed to be, but it surely couldn't be possible for someone of his age. He stared up defiantly into the face of anger and spoke, not planning his words out carefully but speaking his true mind.

"Hey, you…you can't do this to me. Aren't you supposed to do something? I need help…" He stared in disbelief at the sudden amusement that crossed the priest's features, and he realized that this boy did not mean to help him in any way. "You…you won't." This couldn't be the end, not after all he'd done and gone through just to be able to come here. He took a step back, and the priest raised his arm casually and motioned to the two guards waiting outside the temple.

"Take him."

His eyes widened and he flipped around with tensed muscles and watched, but they didn't move any closer and instead they looked at one another helplessly and then one of them spoke to the priest.

"We can't." The young priest glared at them in anger, but he shifted his weight to one foot and then spoke.

"Why not?" His tone was ridden with irritation, and he placed a hand on one hip and stood impatiently, staring at the men outside. One of them shrugged his shoulders and pointed to the blond runaway.

"He's still inside the temple." The priest scoffed at this but he stood upright and looked back to the boy.

"Fine…I'll just throw him out myself, then." Having said that, he took a step in his direction and reached out to grab him, but even through his panic he knew that he couldn't let it all just end here, with this priest who seemed to hate him for no particular reason. There had to be another, and he was going to find them. He bolted suddenly and pushed the priest to the side in his haste, and he heard a shocked cry and then a string of expletives directed at the two guards that still stood outside the temple, but he knew that they weren't allowed to enter and hunt him down, not even if the priest commanded it. He laughed to himself at the rush that followed his actions, and although he knew that he had no idea where he was running to or even how deep the temple really went, there was no turning back. Not unless he really wanted to die.

He ran far into the temple, never once pausing to try and guess at which direction he should take as he approached each split in the hallways, and instead just barreling down whichever path was easiest to turn into without lowing down his speed. That priest was just behind him, he could hear the footsteps that echoed through the hallways from his shoes, and for the first time he was grateful that he hadn't ever owned any himself, because he still had a chance to lose the priest if he was quick and silent enough. His bare feet tread whisper quiet on the stone floor, and he looked up momentarily and noticed just how high the ceiling was over his head and gasped before he looked back to his path again and turned another corner. Were the hallways getting wider, or had they always been like this? He couldn't say, although he began to suspect that the end of the temple was nearing and still he had seen no sign of any other priests in the building. He hoped that the younger one who still tagged along behind him angrily wasn't the only one here. He could hear him closing in, and he flicked his head to the side and saw the priest far behind him, though not nearly far enough. The priest's eyes were wide and he swore that he could nearly see the blue in them from such a distance, and he thought that odd but he couldn't lose his concentration.

"Wait! You can't go in there! That's-" He turned the corner and missed the last thing that the priest had called to him, not caring in the least. And then the entire situation and even his undeniable fate was forgotten in that moment, because when he rounded that last corner he realized that he had indeed reached the end of the temple, and what lay beyond it was nothing that he had ever imagined it would have been.

The temple that he had escaped to find was the temple of the Pharaoh, and while had had known that the palace was close by, he had never guessed that it was within one and the same building. But it had to be, because here he was in the court, and he froze in the doorway and stared, not understanding how he had gotten here. His mouth dropped open and he was shocked silent, and before he could say or do anything at all a crashing force suddenly knocked into him and he fell forward to the floor and rolled, caught in a tangle of limbs and fabric. The wind was nearly knocked out of him, and when he tried to pull himself upright there was an awful streak of pain in his chest, and he sat back on his arms and breathed. It was only a moments rest, however, because the priest got up off the ground quickly and then pushed him back onto the floor rudely, and he cried out at the pain it caused. He then felt a hand entangle itself in his hair, and he was painfully dragged to his feet and as he looked around wildly he saw blue and opened his mouth, instantly furious. This priest was trying to stop him.

"Hey…let go!" He swung and kicked violently at the priest, who dodged his attacks and tried to clamp a hand over his mouth to muffle his cries, but he bit down hard, desperate to do anything that might give him a chance at escape. He had come here for _help_, and if this priest wouldn't give it to him, he would just have to find someone else who would. The priest hissed sharply at the pain of teeth in his hand but he didn't cry out and pulled even harder on the runaway's hair, trying desperately to drag him out of the throne room before he was noticed by anyone. The blond let out a bloodcurdling scream and brought his arm back sharply, elbowing the young priest in the stomach. The priest growled and let him go, unable to do anything for the moment besides clutch his sore stomach, and the boy ran away, stepping swiftly across the long and beautifully tiled floor of the court. He was noticed almost immediately after he had left the doorway that the priest had tried to pull him back through, and he turned his head back and saw that same priest glowering at him furiously but he kept his mouth shut and watched the boy's progress, silently admitting defeat. The blond smiled, but his smile was torn away quickly as he felt himself being knocked down to the ground suddenly by a force that he had not seen.

"Stop!" A sharp and feminine voice called out from not far away, and he looked up from his position, on his back and facing the ceiling, and his eyes widened as he realized that he had found the rest of the priests. Or rather, they had found him, and he quickly discovered in a panic that he was unable to move from where lay after he tried to sit up from the ground. There was nothing touching him…so what was his body held to the ground by? He glanced back over to the other priests that he had glimpsed before, there were five of them and the one that had yelled at him had stepped forward and was now walking towards him in a strangely slow and lightly stepping fashion. The boy's heart began to beat more quickly as he tried his very best to move himself from where he lay, but something invisible held him down and all he could do was sit back and wait for her to approach him. She was staring at him in the face, studying him, and he felt very odd at that moment, even underneath all his panic, because the way that she looked at him gave him a feeling that he couldn't place. It was as though she was seeing through him, or just underneath his skin, maybe. The sensation was startling, but he couldn't run away, and he laid where he was and spoke, hoping that she wasn't nearly as hateful as the blue-eyed priest had been.

"Please…I…" He had been going to ask her for asylum, but his voice caught silently in his throat when his eyes slipped past her and he saw _him_, sitting over in the middle of all the other priests. It was, it had to be the Pharaoh. He realized that he had not only dashed blindly into the palace from the back of the temple, but he had somehow found his way into the throne room. He averted his eyes as soon as he was able and found the priest waiting for him to continue, seeming oddly interested in what he had been about to say.

"I didn't mean to come in here…I'm sorry." She closed her eyes and nodded at him, approving of his admission. He assumed that she believed him, because suddenly a weight was released from inside of him and he regained control of his body. He pushed himself up off the floor quickly, and after blinking once or twice at the priest before him and the four that stood farther away…not to mention who sat behind them all, he fell to his knees on the floor once again and stared at the tile underneath him, not quite sure what the appropriate behavior was to conduct oneself under in the presence of the Pharaoh.

The throne room fell unnaturally silent after he had done so, and because it was so quiet he could hear the snickering of that terrible priest over in the doorway, and he glanced over through the corner of his eye and caught the sight of him, standing with his arms folded over his chest and looking very amused at the kneeling position the blond had taken. He ignored it and stood, looking up at the woman priest who still stood before him, pulling his shoulders down and his chin high.

"I came to the temple looking for asylum…is that not something that I can have?" The priest before him blinked and regarded him curiously before answering.

"Of course you can. It is the will of Amun-Ra that all who seek asylum in his temple shall have it. But why do you come here instead?"

"Because…" He looked over to the doorway and frowned. "Because he wouldn't give it to me!" There were several sharp intakes of breath that were taken in unison, and all five priests looked over to where he pointed angrily. The young priest stood where the boy pointed, sulking moodily in the doorway, and as soon as he knew that all eyes were on him he reluctantly pushed himself off the wall where he had been leaning, knowing that this was going to happen eventually. He walked slowly and prominently towards the center of the room, acting very convincingly as though he did not give a damn about what he was being accused of. He came to a halt only a foot or so away from where the blond boy stood and he turned to face the throne, speaking directly to the Pharaoh and staring right past the woman priest who stood between the two.

"My Pharaoh, I can explain. This-"

"There's no need, Sethe. You would defy the will of the gods?" The woman cut him off and took another step forward, now only mere inches from Sethe's face. He didn't try to speak again, and instead he met her searching gaze with a defiant one, smirking slightly in the face of defeat.

"Of course not." He answered calmly and with nothing in his tone but an obviously fake sweetness and innocence. She stepped back and then once to the side, coming to stand right before the runaway.

"No? Then why is he here?" Sethe didn't respond, and instead had the audacity to look bored with her accusation, shifting his weight to one foot and setting his hand on his hip. The boy looked up at Sethe and waited for him to answer, but the woman knew that he wasn't going to. A few more seconds passed by until she turned and looked at the blond beside Sethe, leaning down and smiling slightly at him.

"What is your name?" He froze as she got closer to him, but he watched her eyes and he knew that she was not like that awful boy standing next to him, Sethe or whatever. She would help him; he could see it in her, somehow. He smiled back at her and answered.

"Zahra." An explosion of air left Sethe's mouth, and he looked away from the entire court, trying to hide his laughter and failing miserably. The woman ignored his reaction and continued to speak to the blond.

"Zahra. Tell me what you seek asylum from."

His eyes grew wide, he hadn't known that he would have to tell his entire story, but he supposed that he would much rather tell this new priest as opposed to the one that stood at his side, still chuckling bitterly to himself. What had been so funny about his name? He frowned in Sethe's direction but spoke to the woman, facing her after a moment.

"He…he was going to _sell_ me, to this awful man…this man who beats his slaves…the last one that he had died, I knew him, and now he's…_dead._ I don't want to die…" His face became tight with fear and sorrow, the death of his friend was still fresh in his heart, and so was the pain. "I know that he killed Makiah. He killed my friend, and he would have killed me. So I ran, as soon as we arrived in the town square…I ran all the way here, and I begged him for asylum," he pointed to the priest at his side, "but he tried to throw me out of the temple so that the guards who chased me here could take me back to the market."

She rose back up to her full height and nodded at him silently, understanding what he meant. "I see. Zahra, I'm going to do something to you now, if it's alright. Do you see this necklace?" She touched the gold around her neck and he studied it carefully for the very first time. It was big, and the thick gold bands were twisted delicately around her neck, coming together just above her collarbone in the shape of an eye. "I'm going to use it to see your future. If you belong here in the temple, I will be able to see that. Alright?" Zahra nodded. He was a little frightened at what might happen if his future didn't lie here in the temple, but if she really could use that thing to see his future, he wanted to know about it no matter what it might be.

The priest closed her eyes and lifted her hands to her face, holding them parallel in the air so that her palms directly faced one another without truly touching in the middle, and the necklace she wore began to emit a slight glow, although Zahra thought that perhaps it was only his imagination. He only half believed that she could do such a thing in the first place, but the way that she spoke was so controlling and slow that he would have half believed her had she told him that Sethe was a really great guy underneath it all. Half believed. He stared at her face and waited for a long minute, watching as her eyebrows furrowed and then relaxed, then furrowed again, and he felt a growing restlessness stirring inside of him and he wished that she would just hurry up and tell him already. All of the priests were watching her, and even Sethe had an eye trained on her, although he wouldn't face her directly.

Her eyes opened finally, and she smiled at Zahra before she stepped back from him wordlessly. He almost wanted to ask her what she had seen, but somehow or another he knew from the look on her face that he wasn't going to find out. Not from her, anyway. She then turned and looked over at Sethe with a strange sort of humor in her eyes, and Zahra looked up at Sethe's face and saw the irritated confusion there.

"What did you see?" Sethe spoke suddenly and with an air of spite, not appreciating the look that she was giving him, but she only shook her head and turned, walking back to the throne and leaning over to the Pharaoh. She conversed with him and the four other priests quietly for a minute or so, leaving Sethe and Zahra to stand impatiently and wait to see what would come of all this. The two stood quietly side by side, until Sethe's raspy whisper broke the silence between them.

"Hey! You had better pray that she sends you somewhere else, because if I get stuck taking care of you, you'll wish that you _had_ been sold to a slave-killer!"

Zahra's eyes widened at his words, but he spoke back, still furious that Sethe was putting him through all this trouble.

"Oh, yeah? We'll just see about that." He looked up at the priest and narrowed his eyes, but Sethe's eyes were on the priest who had seen Zahra's future as she walked back towards the two.

"Sethe…I don't have to tell you how much the Pharaoh disapproves of your actions, but considering the circumstances, I'd say that you're about to more than make up for your crime." She had lost the anger that had been in her face earlier when regarding Sethe, and it had been replaced by an interest and a thought that was barely there, but a smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she spoke. Sethe frowned in her direction but remained silent and waited to hear what the Pharaoh had said to her. She looked down at Zahra with a kinder expression and smiled gently. "Zahra…I have seen many things in your future, and the temple in this palace is most assuredly one of them. You will be granted asylum, and from now on you will live in the temple. With Sethe." she added pointedly, and then turned to face the priest she spoke of.

Sethe was furious. "What? He can't live there, _I _live there! I don't have time for all this! The temple has always been my responsibility and I've never needed any assistance, much less cared for any. Why can't we send him to another temple?" He stood up at his full height and glared down at the woman, but she only smiled strangely and looked to the side emptily.

"Because…when I saw his future, I saw your own as well, Sethe. His path is aligned with yours in a way that I can't even begin to explain, but…I'm sure that the two of you will figure it out eventually. In the meantime…the Pharaoh's orders are that Zahra is to become a servant of his temple, and that you are to train him personally. And as punishment for the mess that you have created by going against the temple code…you are to pay off any debts that Zahra or his family might owe. That includes the debt that is owed today, the one that his would-have been owner would have paid for him. Essentially…Zahra is yours."

At this, both Zahra and Sethe exploded at the same time, simultaneously screaming aloud.

"What!"

Then they fell silent, one hearing the other yelling at his side, and they turned to face one another and then immediately looked away sharply as soon as they caught one another's gaze. Zahra was unhappy, but Sethe was livid. His face burned brightly, but he was already so deeply in the wrong that he knew what would happen if he protested to the Pharaoh's judgment. Zahra, on the other hand, began to feel as though he had jumped out of a bad situation and landed right in the middle of a terrible one. Not only was he still a slave, but he also now belonged to that stupid priest, the one that had decided to hate him before even finding out his name. That thought brought back the memory of Sethe laughing at Zahra's name, and he closed his eyes and clenched his fists, determined not to look ungrateful in the eyes of the Pharaoh. At least…at least Sethe wouldn't beat or kill him. He wouldn't dare, everyone knew that mistreating a slave made your heart far too heavy to balance the feather, and even if no one at all knew that, a priest still would. Sethe certainly wouldn't risk his afterlife just to take out his aggression on Zahra, and he relaxed just a bit and opened his eyes. He looked up at the woman and smiled gratefully at her, knowing that it was her who had saved him, and _not_ Sethe, who was still radiating anger loudly at his side.

"Thank you…thank you so much." He beamed brightly at her and then stepped back, anxious to be away from the watchful eyes of the other priests. He could feel the gaze of the Pharaoh on him as well, but he didn't dare meet it and instead he looked up at Sethe and waited for him to do something. Sethe was frozen in place, locked in a heated glare with the woman who had saved Zahra. She turned away from him and went back to join the other priests at the Pharaoh's side, striking up a conversation with one of them and turning the attention of the room away from the newly bonded pair.

Sethe gave a small noise of indignation at being ignored, but he grabbed Zahra by the arm and pulled him in the direction that he meant to walk in.

"Come on. We're leaving." Zahra stumbled a few steps before wrenching his arm away from Sethe's grasp roughly and matching the priest's pace, walking alongside him out of the throne room. Sethe strode quickly and precisely, and Zahra had to walk twice as quickly in order to keep up with Sethe's long legs, and together they walked through the doorway that they both had come through earlier and into the labyrinth of hallways that Zahra had managed to navigate correctly. Had that been the will of the gods, for him to so easily find his way into the very center of the palace, or had he just been extremely lucky? He didn't think so. The priest, the _nice_ one who had looked into his future, had seen something important. Zahra was sure of that. Something that involved Sethe, and to a great extent, apparently. Well…Zahra didn't care much for Sethe, but he knew better than to think that he was unlucky. He wasn't going to meet the same end as Makiah, and that was something to be grateful for. Makiah…

Zahra pushed his grief deeper, into a place that Sethe wouldn't be able to see. Makiah was dead, and he wasn't going to come back. But then again, he wouldn't ever have to suffer again, and Zahra smiled a bitter smile as he thought of that. It could be worse, Zahra knew that he could have very well met the same fate as his friend did, and while he felt guilty for thinking of it in that light, he knew that Makiah wouldn't have wanted that for his best friend.

'_If only Makiah could see me now…'_ Zahra thought with a wry grin. '_I'd never hear the end of it.'_

"Ahem!" Sethe's overly loud throat-clearing broke Zahra's thoughts apart, and he looked up and saw the young priest's blue eyes directly on him. Zahra froze in mid-step and waited for Sethe to speak, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on. They had come far into the temple, and Sethe had paused in front of a particular doorway and motioned for Zahra to enter.

"Every other room in the temple is in use…so for now, you'll have to stay in here with me." He looked none too pleased with the situation, but Zahra's eyes widened as he took in the sight of Sethe's room, especially the large and very comfortable looking bed that sat in the middle of the floor. The priest watched Zahra's wandering eyes and smirked. "Ha. You wish. _You'll _be sleeping over there…" He pointed to the empty corner in the far end, and Zahra's face fell as he saw that Sethe meant for him to sleep on the floor, the _stone_ floor. That was even worse than where he had been sleeping in his old home, and he turned his eyes towards Sethe and put on his best pleading look. If there was any kindness that dwelled within the priest, no matter how faint, his wide-eyed gaze would most certainly draw it out of him.

"Oh…but it'll be so painful…to sleep on nothing but stone…" The priest eyed his pathetic look warily for a moment, almost suspicious, but he only gave Zahra an empty look in return and spoke casually.

"Yes…it most certainly will."

AN: Ahem. Clear Vision, part two. Speaking of which, if you haven't read Clear Vision, DO NOT READ IT UNTIL YOU FINISH READING THIS STORY. The end of this story is given away in, like the second chapter. And really, I should pull it off of Fanfiction entirely because it's such crap…but what can I say? It was the first story I ever wrote, and I just love Sethe and Zahra. And past lives. Oh, here's a side note to everyone who is awaiting more of The Importance of the Night and Being Blind- I'm so sorry! I'm trying to pull the files off of my broken laptop…as soon as I do I'll post the entire story in one go, just because I feel so bad about the wait.


	2. Per AmunRa

Asylum

By Katsuya Kaiba

AN: You know, I always knew that I'd write this damn story. Ever since I wrote, I think maybe the third or fourth chapter of Clear Vision, I was thinking, 'You know what? I really would like to know how it all built up to this. I should write it.' So…nearly a year later…here I am. Writing what seems to be my favorite project yet. I can't say for sure…I like them all so much for different reasons, but this is just plain _romantic._ Ahhh…

* * *

"Makiah…" Zahra mumbled restlessly in his sleep, caught inside a dream, a memory that he couldn't escape from.

_Zahra slunk through the shadows that lined the back wall of his home, sneaking quietly through the night. Makiah's house was directly behind his, and Zahra had promised to meet him after dark in the alleyway that separated the two properties. _

"_Zahra!" A voice that was so low it nearly didn't exist whispered from behind the wall that encircled Makiah's home, and after a second had passed two hands appeared and gripped the edge of the wall, and a tall, thin boy about Zahra's age pulled himself over it, landing on his bare feet in the middle of the alleyway. Zahra smiled and stepped out from the shadows, walking into the moonlight. The silver beams played over the sandy streaks in his hair and paled his face, which was slightly tanned but far whiter than anyone else's in the city. Makiah's own black hair shone blue in the soft glow of the moon, and his eyes seemed to be the darkest black in the fading twilight, although Zahra knew them to be a warm russet in the daylight. However, it wasn't too often that Zahra was able to see his friend when the sun was up._

_Zahra reached out to Makiah with a smile and hugged his friend briefly, and then released him when Makiah drew his breath sharply between his teeth at the contact. Zahra pulled away from him and bent over, looking upwards into Makiah's face worriedly._

"_Makiah…is he…" Makiah smiled at Zahra through his pain and shook his head._

"_Don't worry…it's nothing I can't handle. What about you?" Zahra shook his head; his friend had no reason to worry about him. Zahra had never suffered at the hands of someone else._

"_Apart from having to do all the dirty work…everything's perfect." Zahra gave Makiah a grin and laughed quietly, sitting down on the dirt and leaning his back against the wall that surrounded his own home. Makiah joined him seconds later, and they sat side by side in silence, staring up at the stars and just thinking, neither one feeling as though they needed to speak. Some things were much clearer when left unspoken._

"_You know what…I heard something today." Makiah broke the comfortable silence, and Zahra could feel the tiny shards of it falling all around their feet. "There were guests at our house today, and I overheard them talking. I hope…I hope what I heard them say is true, because if it is, then you and I are going to be free someday."_

_Zahra blinked rapidly, unsure of what Makiah might have meant by that. Free?_

"_What?"_

_Makiah's eyes never left the starry sky, but he continued to speak to Zahra, who stared at him as he spoke quietly, so as not to awaken anyone around them._

"_They lost a slave, they said. At first I thought that the slave had died, but after I listened to more of the conversation I realized that he hadn't died…he had escaped." Makiah brought his eyes to Zahra's and stared at him deeply, a hidden desire burning in the blackest depths. "And he got away with it."_

_Zahra tilted his head to the side as he regarded his friend, questions buzzing like a storm of bees in his mind. "But…who would hide a runaway slave? Not likely, if you ask me." Zahra smiled and lifted his foot from the ground, stepping lightly on Makiah's bare foot with his own, teasing him into laughter. Makiah's face remained serious, however, and Zahra's smile faded as he realized that Makiah wasn't joking around. "You're serious."_

_Makiah nodded and whispered once again. "You're right, no one would hide a slave…but the temples will. That's what this guy said…he said that his slave had somehow run off in the night and made it all the way to the temple in his town. Once he got there, he asked for asylum, and the temple gave it to him."_

"_Asylum? What's that?" Zahra stared at his friend with wide eyes, unable to put much faith in Makiah's words. They were just too good to be true. Makiah shook his head and frowned, his eyes unfocused and trained on the ground. He pushed his toes into the sand and shifted the grains around absentmindedly, thinking hard about what he was saying._

"_I'm not really sure, everyone that was in the room with him seemed to know what he meant. All I know is that this slave ran away to the temple and asked them for asylum, and they set him free. He's not a slave anymore."_

_Zahra let his own eyes fall to the sand beneath him. Asylum…could Makiah be right? Was there a way out? If anybody needed something to believe in, it was Makiah. Every night that Zahra met up with him he was either limping or breathing oddly, and Zahra couldn't bear the fact that there was no way for him to help. Even though it was obviously happening, no one would believe it because it was unheard of. Nobody beat their slaves, that kind of thing just wasn't done. Or at least, it wasn't supposed to be done. It was the will of the gods, and no one would ever believe that this man was willingly defying them. Both Zahra and Makiah knew that. But now…if what Makiah had overheard was true, than it was up to Zahra to make sure that Makiah made it out…alive. He would risk everything to get his friend away from harm. He just hadn't known that there was a way out._

"_Makiah…" Zahra wasn't sure what to say. He wanted to believe it, he honestly did, but it just seemed so…hopeful. There wasn't much room for that sort of feeling in an existence such as theirs was._

"_No, Zahra, I know what you want to say, and I know that it seems a little far-fetched, but it's true. That guy was mad, believe me, because he had lost a slave. Don't you see? This is it; this is what we've been waiting for. We could get out, you and I…" _

_Zahra smiled at Makiah through the darkness. "Yeah…we could." Zahra would do anything to save Makiah. Even hang his hopes and his life on a possibility, and a slim one at that. "We will."_

And then Zahra's eyes flew open as a deluge of icy water crashed through his dreams and soaked his head and his clothes. He sat up off the floor in a panicked rush and cried out unintelligibly as the shock of the temperature bled into his skin and froze his blood cold. Searching around wildly for answers, he found only one solution: the awful priest Sethe, who stood over Zahra's head with a bucket and a grin.

"Morning."

Zahra glared upwards with fire in his eyes. "Morning." More than anything, he wanted to _destroy_ this boy, but he couldn't because then the Pharaoh himself would probably kill him, and that would defeat the entire purpose of being here in the first place. He had come here to live, not to die.

Zahra wiped the water out of his eyes and directed a death glare towards Sethe, but it only reached him halfway before it fell from Zahra's grasp, and he looked again at the priest and frowned. He wasn't wearing all that fancy dress that he had worn the previous day, and since Sethe had sent Zahra to bed, or rather, to the floor, hours before Sethe himself had retired, Zahra had never seen him in anything other than his religious clothing. But now…he looked like another person completely. He looked years younger, and while Zahra had guessed him to be around the age of twenty two, maybe twenty three, in his sleeping clothes he was obviously no older than nineteen. The only thing that Zahra could even recognize about him were his sharp blue eyes and his gold bands that wrapped across both forearms and both of his calves.

His hair was short and a dusty brown, which struck Zahra as somewhat odd, since he hadn't ever seen anyone with a hair color that light before. Well, no one save himself, of course. The priest was much thinner than he had realized, although not nearly so thin as Zahra. He was still hands taller, as well.

"Get up. Your training begins now." Sethe dropped the bucket and stepped back, waiting impatiently for Zahra to stand up from the floor. Zahra took his time, stretching languidly and then standing up, shaking the water out of his hair as he did so. The priest made a disgusted sound and raised his hands to his face, avoiding the spray of water that Zahra purposely flung in his direction. Looking down at his hands, Zahra noticed that the water the priest had dropped on him hadn't really been enough to wash away all the dirt and sand that clung to his skin, but since he was wet it now dripped and ran across his skin in cloudy droplets and smeared in places, looking more obvious against his skin, which was not as tanned as the priests.

"Ugh…" Sethe looked him over with revulsion and then met Zahra's puzzled expression. "When was the last time you had a bath?" Zahra's eyes drifted towards the ceiling thoughtfully, and he lifted his hands and began silently counting the passed time on his fingers. "Stop that…if you have to count, it's been far too long. Damn it…" Sethe swore under his breath and clenched his fists. "I do _not_ have time for this."

Zahra grinned madly, proud of himself for being able to inconvenience Sethe so badly. He deserved it, this was his punishment for turning Zahra away, and Zahra was only too happy to comply with the Pharaoh's terms. "You've got all the time in the world. I'm not going anywhere." Zahra spoke forcefully and folded his arms over his chest, waiting for Sethe to decide on something for him to do or learn about. Zahra was indifferent to the ways of the temple, he could care or not care at any given moment, and being a temple servant was more than fine with him. As long as he was able to make Sethe's life a living hell. "Now, what do you want me to do?"

Sethe was only partially paying attention to Zahra's words, more interested in watching the dirty water that dripped off of Zahra's nose and fingers with a pained expression. "I want you to get out of my room before you drip any more of your filth on my floor. You're going to follow me around today, as much as it pains me to say so. I assume that you know very little of the temple rites and practices?" Zahra shook his head in a negative response.

"I've never really been inside of a temple before."

Sethe was quiet and he thought carefully for a moment before speaking. "What about the city shrine? You've at least been there…haven't you?" He looked at Zahra with a pleading hope, desperately not wanting to have to begin at square one. Zahra shook his head.

"I've been there, but I haven't ever participated in the public rituals."

Sethe looked skeptical of this. "What about your parents? Didn't they teach you anything?"

"My parents are dead. That's how I got into this mess. They died before they could pay off the debts that they owed, and since there was no one else to take me after they were gone…I became the payment."

Sethe blinked and then looked away from Zahra's face. "Oh…well, fine then." He spoke quickly and without any sort of emotion, but clearly feeing strained under the possibility of one. "Well, I suppose that takes care of one of my problems, then. I don't owe as much as I thought I did." He grinned to himself, satisfied that at least some of his punishment had been lifted from his shoulders. Zahra frowned at him but didn't say anything, not really expecting the priest to be anything other than extremely insulting at that point, and if Sethe had shown some compassion it might have frightened him just a little. "Come on. It's getting late, and we have things to do before dawn." Sethe turned and walked quickly through the doorway, leaving Zahra to run out after him and try to catch up.

_Before dawn…? _The room that Sethe stayed in was deep inside the temple and there was no way to see the outside world from anywhere near their location, let alone the position of the sun. The only way that they were able to even navigate through the hallways was by the light of the fires that burned constantly in every corner. Zahra hadn't any idea what hour of the night it might have been, but judging from his exhaustion and the last thing Sethe said to him, he knew that it was far too early to be awake. He sighed and let the feelings go, he was still alive and this was his life now, so he would become accustomed to it in time.

Sethe led him to the farthest reaches of the temple, all the way to the right of the building and when they finally stopped Zahra could see the sky outside through many open places in the wall, still just as black as the night. There wasn't even a hint of the approaching sunlight, and Zahra began to wonder just how much needed to be done before the dawn set in. No wonder Sethe had sent him to sleep so early in the day.

They came to an opening in the temple wall, and Sethe led Zahra down an outdoor stone staircase that descended directly into another indoor area, this one seemingly underground. Inside was nothing except a pool of crystal blue water, barely lit by the single fire that burned a few feet away at the entrance. It was still so black outside that not much could be seen besides the water, but Zahra could see that the staircase ended just a few steps under the surface, and the water was so perfectly clear that he could see something on the floor, although he couldn't make out the details in the faint and flickering light. Sethe gave Zahra a shove that nearly tumbled him into the water, but he caught his balance and then whirled around on his heel, instantly furious.

"Hey!" Sethe only rolled his eyes in response and backed off.

"Get in…and don't come out until you're clean. I mean it." He turned his back to Zahra, who stood still on the stone steps, not quite understanding what was happening.

"Wait…isn't this for…you know, priests and religious people?"

"That includes you…or have you forgotten?" The priest didn't look back and continued up the steps as he spoke, an irritated tone in his voice that carried well. Zahra frowned and then raised his eyebrows in understanding. He really was…wasn't he? He wasn't a priest, but he was going to be doing priest-like things and helping the actual priest out. It was odd, but it wasn't so awful. He would just have to get used to it, and he knew that he probably had piles of things to learn about, which would no doubt bother Sethe to no end. Zahra smiled and slipped out of his clothes, feeling them and noticing that they were becoming more and more threadbare by the day. But then, wouldn't he have to wear other things now? He wasn't sure.

_Well…it doesn't really matter right now. All I care about is getting all this dirt off of me before Sethe has a fit about it. That guy is just awful…_

He stuck his toe into the water and tested the temperature, finding it to be surprisingly lukewarm. He stepped down the last few stone steps and then sunk into the water and looked all around. The roof was only a few feet above him, and he knew that if he stood up he would most likely have to bend over to keep from hitting his head.

_This little room must collect the heat from the sun all day and then hold it in the water overnight. This is below ground…hey, what's that?_

'That' referred to the hundreds of lines of text that covered every inch of the floor, walls, and ceiling, and Zahra reached down into the water and ran his fingers along the stone, finding that the words were carved there, and not just painted on like so many other buildings that he had seen in the city. Maybe this pool was more important than he had first realized. The firelight didn't reach the back wall, so he couldn't see the text as clearly, but it wasn't as if he could understand it, anyway. It did look very…temple-y, though. He ducked his head under the water and closed his eyes, scrubbing at the dirt that he knew was on his face and arms. It was everywhere, but he decided to take this one step at a time. It really had been awhile, far longer than Zahra would have liked, but there hadn't been a thing that he could do about it. He began to feel as though that was his only excuse for everything, but it was the truth. He hadn't been in control of a single shred of his life since before he could remember, and his new arrangement was no different. Although it was infinitely better than where he had been living, and even he could see that plainly. He liked it here, and he liked that one priest, even though she wouldn't tell him what she had seen in his future. That hadn't really bothered him all that much, though, and he smiled as he remembered how she had spoken to Sethe. _She_ didn't seem to think that he was all that great, at least not as much as Sethe thought he was. Zahra wondered if there was something else behind the way that the other priests treated Sethe, but he knew that his attitude was reason enough for them to hate him terribly, and he couldn't blame them one bit.

"Aren't you done yet? I have to use this, you know."

_Speaking of attitude…_

Zahra glanced over to where he had heard Sethe's voice and found him standing impatiently with one hand on his side and the other one holding a few folds of fabric. "Here…I'm leaving these here, but I'll be back very soon, and I expect to see you fully dressed when I return." Sethe walked off again without another word and Zahra watched him as he went, waiting until he was completely inside the temple before stepping out of the pool. He wrung the water out of his hair as best he could and dried himself off with the menket that Sethe had left along with his outfit, and spent the next minute or so trying to figure out how his new clothes worked. He got them on eventually, but they were strange and he'd never seen anything like them before, soft and long and nearly dragging on the ground, and they made him feel even more out of place than he already did. They were the purest white, too, and he looked down at the dingy beige rags he'd been wearing and almost wished that he could put them back on again.

"Hmph. Take those old things and wait for me in my room. I'll be in there soon." Sethe walked past Zahra down the steps and then turned and waited for him to leave before getting in the pool himself. Zahra bent over and grabbed the clothes, anxious to be away from the priest already. He walked back up the steps and somehow remembered the way back into the room he'd slept in, after a few wrong turns and several backtracks. He tossed the clothes into 'his' corner and then sat down on Sethe's bed, knowing that if the priest came back and found him there he'd be pretty pissed off. Zahra didn't care, and secretly wanted to make him angry, anyway, so there was no way to lose. He didn't _hate_ Sethe, not exactly, but he wasn't very pleased with the idea of having to put up with him for an indefinite amount of time.

_It sure is quiet here…I wonder why none of the other priests are ever in the temple. Or maybe they only come at certain times. Didn't Sethe say something about the temple being his responsibility? Maybe he's the Kher Heb…he must be, if he's the only one who does any of the temple rites. I know more than he thinks I do, but it's all just common knowledge. I wonder if there's really all that much that I need to learn about. What is there to do in a temple besides pray? I know how to do that, not that I would. A whole lot of good it's done for me so far. I'm sure that the gods don't really have the time to spare for someone like me, anyway._

Zahra sighed and slumped his shoulders, hoping that the priest wouldn't take his time with his bath. He could already feel himself falling asleep, and if he sat here in the dusky silence too long he wasn't sure what might happen, but if Sethe came in and found him asleep he'd probably kill him, feather or no. Well…maybe not kill him…but he would be pretty upset. Zahra shut his eyes for a moment, but then quickly opened them as the face of his dead friend appeared behind his eyelids. It hadn't been more than two days since he'd known, and he felt the familiar sting of tears in the corners of his eyes, but he frowned and hastily brushed them away, determined to be strong.

_If Makiah saw me crying he'd laugh…_ Zahra smiled sullenly at that thought. _He surely wouldn't want me to. But it only just happened, and I haven't even had time to think about it. Everything is so different now…I wish that I could have come here with him. Then maybe I wouldn't feel like I didn't belong here so badly. I wonder what he would have said to Sethe when he tried to throw me out. _

Sethe returned to his room and found Zahra in a fit of giggling, imagining all of the possible outcomes of yesterday's situation had Makiah been there to help him. Zahra looked up and fell into silence when he saw the priest, noticing that he was fully dressed in his priestly attire and looking very important. It was so strange…it changed so much about him.

"Hey, get off my bed!" Zahra jumped up at the sharply spoken words and held his hands behind his back, grinning on the inside but smiling coyly at Sethe. The priest scowled at Zahra but motioned for him to follow him into the hallway. Zahra walked a few steps behind Sethe for the entire trip, which was a long one and brought them nearly all the way to the front of the temple. They passed by many rooms on the way there, and Zahra looked inside each doorway as they walked by and saw that Sethe was right, each room was serving a purpose, although what they were for exactly was something that Zahra couldn't even begin to guess at. They were all lit, though, and decorated elaborately, although Sethe's pace prohibited Zahra from getting a decent look. Most of them were small, however, far too small for a person to live inside of.

The room that Sethe brought them to was enormous, he could tell because the doorway itself was larger than most of the entire rooms he had seen in passing. Zahra followed Sethe inside, and when he looked up he saw that the ceiling in this room was far beyond his reach, unlike so many of the others. There were no fires lit, which Zahra found to be strange because they were lit in every other room that he had passed on his way there, and all throughout each hallway. The orange glow fell through the doorway from the light just outside the room, and Zahra could see the unmistakable glint of gold shining out through the darkness from every direction, reflecting the firelight. He wanted to see more, but the night was too deep and his eyes wouldn't adjust properly against the flickering shadows that moved too quickly for him to catch. His eye caught a glimpse of blue against the black of the room, and he turned his head and saw the starry night sky, slowly bleeding blue against the horizon. There was a window in this room, and Zahra figured that they must be closer to the temple entrance than he had thought. Sethe pushed past Zahra impatiently and walked straight into the darkness, not even pausing once to feel his way around. Zahra watched him in surprise, but then he thought of that fact that this was Sethe's temple, essentially, and if he didn't know his way around it then nobody did.

There was a small rusting in the corner, and Zahra's eyes had begun to adjust just enough so that he could vaguely see Sethe's outline against the far wall, and he pulled something off of a table and walked back towards Zahra. He then passed him completely and walked outside, and Zahra could now see that Sethe held a torch, and was lighting it with the fire in the hallway. He brought the light with him as he re-entered the room and took it over to the back wall, followed closely by Zahra, who did not wish to be left alone in the dark. From the light that Sethe held Zahra could see three small stands lined up against the back wall, two in the corners and one directly in between them both, and each one held a large gold plate that dipped in just slightly in the center. Sethe held the light over to one of the tables he had passed on his way through the room and picked up one of the vases that stood there, and Zahra watched him with fascination as he walked up to each of the gold plates and poured whatever was in the vase into the center of each one. He then stepped back and set the vase down on the table again, and walked over to the very first plate in the left corner of the room. Zahra was at his heels, but Sethe suddenly pushed him back and gave him a look that made Zahra stand where he had been placed, still watching Sethe intently.

The priest was a few feet away from the corner stand, and he lifted the flame out and just barely made contact with the plate before pulling his hand away as the plate burst into flames. Zahra's breath caught in his throat, and he realized why Sethe had pushed him back farther. Zahra had no idea what Sethe had poured into those plates, but whatever it was, it had to be spelled somehow. There wasn't anything on this earth that could produce a flame like that, and Zahra's eyes widened as he saw the fire reaching higher than it should have, standing at least a few feet in the air. The flame itself was strange, as well, and there were absolutely no traces of red or orange in the center of the flame. The entire blaze was the purest gold, and Zahra stared at it in disbelief, wondering if it was the flame of Ra himself. It illuminated most of the room on it's own, and as Sethe lit the second flame and then the third, he was finally able to see what lay inside the room he'd been in for so long, standing in the dark.

Everything was gold, and all of it was beautiful. The table that Sethe had taken the vase from was just one of many, there were four of them total and they were all covered with things that Zahra had never seen before, but he walked over to all of them and inspected them anyway, seeing random precious stones and crystals lying amongst the daggers and incense blocks. Another table was covered with bowls filled with sacred oils, ones that Zahra had never seen or smelled, and the whole area around that table was filled with the vibrations of the scents in the air. Next to the oil were several sticks of kohl and a small dish filled with copper paint, a brush hanging halfway over the side.

It was the table in the middle that snared Zahra's attention more than any other, it was the largest and the one that Zahra guessed was the main function of the room. This was the main shrine of the temple, the sacred space of Amun-Ra, and Zahra didn't approach it too closely, not sure if he was going to be allowed to do anything with it. Sethe probably wouldn't trust him with it, which Zahra felt might be best, because he himself wasn't really all that sure that he wanted this sort of responsibility. He stared at it from a few feet away, thought, and saw that the whole table was made of stone, and there was text carved all along the legs and the top of the table. There were also several gold plates and vases that were placed in a symmetrical fashion all along the tabletop, but each and every one was empty. Zahra looked past the image of the god on the far side of the table and saw that the walls were all painted with depictions of Amun-Ra and his stories, followed by lines and lines of text that bordered the lower half of each wall. Zahra could read the stories, since they were painted literally and he knew how they all went, anyway, but he was hopelessly lost when his eyes scanned over the text, and he wondered what it was that had been written here.

In-between the myths were several long mirrors that touched the ground and rose up against the wall taller than Zahra or Sethe, and there were at least three on each wall. Zahra caught a glimpse of himself from across the room and blinked at it, staring blankly for a second before he turned his eyes away from the image. He hated that fact that he looked so much different than everyone else, although he had noticed that while Sethe didn't look anything like he did, Zahra couldn't help but see the obvious crystal blue in his eyes, a color that Zahra had never seen before in anyone else's eyes. His eyes were just as light as Sethe's, only instead of blue they were a strange light gold, almost the same color as the ornaments and tools that filled the room they both stood inside. And it didn't help much that his hair was the same exact color. He knew that people stared at him wherever he went, but he couldn't help that, and he blinded himself to the existence of the mirrors, preferring to forget his unwelcome exterior.

"Are you quite finished? We haven't got all day." The exasperated voice of Sethe called out to him from behind, and Zahra turned around quickly and saw the priest leaning idly against the wall, watching Zahra's careful inspection with a small smirk. Zahra was still too wrapped up in his surroundings to speak, but he gave the priest a silent nod and waited for him to give the next direction. Sethe walked over to the table that held the oils and Zahra followed quickly in his steps, not wanting to screw anything up in here. The old shrine in the town square was put to shame by this one, but this was a temple shrine and was really the main function of the entire building, so it made sense that it would be like this. Plus, this was the Pharaoh's temple, and Sethe was the Pharaoh's Kher Heb, and Zahra was willing to bet that Sethe could have whatever he asked for, if it was meant for the gods. Sethe paused before the table and glanced over at Zahra, sighing in frustration.

"Since you took up nearly half the morning in the pool, we don't really have time to perform the Gasu Ur…" The priest's eyes checked the progress of the sun outside the window and then glared at Zahra. The smaller boy frowned right back at Sethe and then he, too, looked outside the window and saw that the blue on the horizon was slowly inching it's way into a lighter purple. They had time, but not enough for Sethe's long and complicated temple version of the great anointing. "Ugh…I suppose the Nedj will do for now…but you had better not hold me back tomorrow. Remember, I'm doing you a favor, and you had better appreciate it."

Zahra looked away from Sethe and waited for him to finish ranting and get on with it already. "So instead of talking about it, maybe you should just do it, then. I mean…since you're in so much of a hurry." Zahra looked up into Sethe's eyes and stared defiantly, begging him to retort. He didn't, and instead he turned his nose up in the air and looked down at the table, picking up the different bowls of oil and reading the names that had been painted on the sides of each one. Zahra watched Sethe out of the corner of his eyes, reading the words so easily, and he wondered how long it had taken for Sethe to learn how to read fluently. Probably years, Zahra thought, and he felt something in his heart drop at the prospect.

_I wanted to learn how to read…a long time ago, when I was a kid. I suppose it's too late now, there isn't any use in learning something like that so late…Makiah could read a bit, I remember. He tried to teach me, but that proved to be far too difficult. I guess I'm just not cut out for that sort of thing. Still…watching him read like that…it makes me wish that I could do it just as easily as he does._

Sethe set aside some of the oils on the right side of the table, and he then grabbed Zahra's arm and pulled him close. Zahra blinked and then froze up instinctively as he felt Sethe pulling him forward, but he was stopped just in front of Sethe and he looked up into his eyes, mere inches from his own.

"Now just be quiet for awhile, and try not to fidget around. In fact…don't say anything at all unless I tell you to. I swear, you are such a burden…" Sethe's sentence faded into an irritated silence, and then he reached out and set a hand on Zahra's shoulder, holding him firmly in place. Zahra wished that the priest would try explaining things before he did them, but he supposed that it would have been too much to ask of him. He was already bothered enough, it seemed, and Zahra remained silent and watched as the priest dipped a finger in one of the oils and brought it to Zahra's mouth. He tried to step back unconsciously, but the grip on his shoulder tightened and the priest's finger brushed lightly against Zahra's bottom lip and then drew away, and Sethe looked away from Zahra and dipped his finger in another bowl. The smell filled his nostrils instantly with a dark and heavy sort of sweet scent. Zahra had to fight to keep his breath regular, and he wasn't sure what had set his heart off but the finger on his lips had felt very odd, and he pushed the idea from his mind and tried to concentrate on what the priest was doing next.

Sethe let his hand fall from Zahra's shoulder and reached out for his hands, pulling them up and facing his palms to the ceiling. Zahra held his hands up on his own when the priest let them go and he watched as the oil was traced in a line over each of his palms. Sethe then pushed his hands down slightly and Zahra let them fall to his sides. The priest wet his finger with the third oil and then pulled down on the neck of Zahra's clothes, dragging the oil slowly over the dip in the center of his collarbone, and Zahra shivered faintly, hoping that he was supposed to be feeling lightheaded over what the priest was doing to him. He'd never done anything like this, and the sensations that he felt as a result were confusing, and he tried not to pay them any attention and instead remained indifferent, deciding that it was meant to feel that way.

Zahra watched as the priest placed both hands on Zahra's shoulders and turned him around so that his back was facing Sethe, and then he felt a sudden wetness on the nape of his neck accompanied by the now familiar touch of Sethe's fingertip, and he ignored the shudder that it sent down his spine. Whatever this was supposed to do, he was pretty sure that it was working. Sethe grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him around once more, and when Zahra tried to meet his eyes he found the priest lost in thought, concentrating heavily on his task. He didn't dare speak, not until he was sure that the priest was finished, and he watched as Sethe brought a few drops of oil towards his face, and Zahra flinched slightly but refused to move, knowing that it would most likely make Sethe angrier than even Zahra wanted to make him. Sethe's other hand came up as well and his fingers slipped underneath Zahra's messy blond bangs, still damp from the bath earlier, and he pushed them back and drew a line along his forehead, letting the hair fall back into place when he had finished and stepping back. He turned away from Zahra suddenly, and it appeared as though he had finished.

"Hey…what was that all about?"

There was no answer, and Sethe busied himself with stirring the copper paint around in its dish, mumbling under his breath.

"Hey…what are you doing with that? Why won't you explain anything to me? If I don't understand what you're doing this all for, how can I learn to help you?"

Sethe sighed dramatically and spun on his heel to face Zahra, a tired look in his eyes. "If one is to be in the presence of a god…one must _become_ a god. Now, be quiet."

Zahra, not being sure what to make of Sethe's statement, decided to simply do as he asked.

_What the hell is that supposed to mean? Become a god…he's been shut up in this temple for way too long…it's a good thing I'm here. Maybe he won't be quite so loopy after he's had some company for awhile. I wonder if the other priests ever come here at all…_

Zahra's thoughts were interrupted when Sethe placed a hand on his head and pushed it back so that Zahra's face lifted up.

"Close your eyes." Zahra did as he was told, and after a dark and nervous moment he felt something cold and wet against his eyelid, and he nearly opened his eyes at the shock but managed to follow Sethe's orders. Sethe finished his right eye and then moved over to the left, and Zahra had to fight to keep his eyelids shut once more as the brush swept the copper over his skin. Zahra couldn't help but silently wonder why the priest thought that wearing it was so important, but Sethe spoke again as he reached out to the table for a stick of kohl and then proceeded to draw dark outlines around Zahra's eyes.

"You have to emulate the Eye of Heru. The copper and the galena enhance your divine sight…although I highly doubt that it will have any effect on someone like you."

Zahra decided not to bother trying to interpret the priest's words, and instead waited wordlessly for him to finish. When Sethe stepped back and released his hold on Zahra's head, he opened his eyes and then blinked in shock, keeping quiet as his eyes adjusted. Whatever magic there was painted on his eyes made everything look much…different. Different in a strange way, in a way that Zahra couldn't put his finger on, but although he couldn't quite place why, he knew that he was seeing much more than he had been able to before. And yet, nothing at all had changed in appearances, it was in the way that Zahra looked at the world now that made the difference. Sethe paid him little mind and began the entire process over again, this time performed on himself, and Zahra turned away from him and surveyed the room once more, trying to place what it was that was making everything look so odd.

The very first thing that caught Zahra's eye were the fires that Sethe had lit earlier, and he gaped and then turned away from them quickly. He was only able to keep his eyes off of them in fear for a few moments before curiosity stole the better part of him and he glanced back warily, staring suspiciously at the white-hot flames that now burned in a light shade of crystal blue, a far cry from the strangely solid gold that they had been before. Or perhaps they hadn't ever been gold, and they had always been this way, an odd sapphire that closely if not completely harmonized with Sethe's eyes. He just hadn't been able to see it before. He shook his head, bewildered but quiet, not wanting to interrupt the priest in what seemed to be a very serious activity, and instead he let his eyes wander slowly around the room, checking for more alterations. Aside from the obvious change in the flames, there was nothing else that had been distorted enough for him to notice, although he hadn't spent much time in the room to begin with, so he wasn't even too sure on what he was looking for.

It was then that he saw them again, the mirrors that hung on each wall, and he approached the closest one cautiously, wondering if he himself looked any different. Apart from the way that the cosmetic made him look, he could see nothing that he hadn't ever seen before. His hair, his eyes and skin, they were all the same and he blinked a few times and stepped close, so that his nose nearly touched the glass pane in front of him. But if he looked closer…Zahra's eyes lost their focus for a split second and he saw something, without ever really seeing anything. It was as though he saw a thought; one that he was thinking at the same time and somehow knew it was so with his sight. He closed his eyes for a moment and forgot about his fear and his doubt, choosing instead to really try and see what this new gift could do, and perhaps learn what he was meant to do with it. Sethe obviously wasn't going to tell him, not unless he asked him a million times over, and Zahra took a deep breath and opened his eyes slowly, looking but not looking too intensely at his reflection.

Zahra was entirely unable to read in any language, yet he was able to read the things that were written all over him, from his head to his toe, and while it wasn't something that he could explain, he now knew what it was that the copper and the kohl were meant to do. It gave him an extra sort of sight, the ability to see just below the surface of the things that he could touch and taste and smell. It was slight and it was barely there, but in extreme cases like the fire and himself, he could see the changes in his perception. Every hope and fear, every wish and sadness that he'd ever had, they were all over him and if he looked hard enough, he could see them. He let his eyes slip even further out of focus and watched in a sort of far off way, searching for what might lie just underneath his own skin. His lids slipped down across his eyes and he stared half-lidded into the mirror until a bold image flashed across both the glass and his face. Zahra's eyes widened at first in shock, and then he shut them slowly and turned away from the sight of Makiah under his skin. He was always, constantly thinking about him, even if it was just in the very deepest reaches of his mind. Makiah was always there, and Zahra hadn't even cried, not once, since he'd known. There just hadn't been time.

Zahra hoped that Sethe wouldn't be able to see those things, but he knew that if he could see them in the priest then it would most likely work against him, as well. Zahra thought it best to find out as soon as possible, and he walked away from the mirror slowly and came to stand by the priest, who had finished with his own anointing and was currently taking hot embers from the large cauldron filled with them against the wall near the doorway, placing a few of them in a censer that hung from a long gold chain he held in his hand. Sethe paid Zahra absolutely no attention as he worked, and Zahra watched him closely, looking for things similar to the ones he had seen all over himself. They weren't nearly as clear as his own had been when the sight did come through, and Zahra still wasn't able to understand exactly how he could see such a thing as fear, but there it was on the priest all the same.

Fear was the first thing that Zahra saw, written repeatedly over the priest's face and neck, but it was faint and it seemed to be pulled forcefully into existence by a great number of things that were all delicately intertwined, fear being the direct result. It was almost like a chain of resulting emotions that began on his face and fanned out across his shoulders, and from there they spun and split up all the way down around his ankles, which was where Zahra began searching for their names, sensing somehow that the deepest roots would be nearest to the ground and stabilized near Sethe's feet. Zahra never once stopped to think about how he could reason it out that way, or any way for that matter, being the sort of person who only believed in things that he could directly touch and see, but it made perfect sense to him in an imperfect way, and he ignored any traces of doubt or caution in his heart and searched Sethe deeper, looking for names. He couldn't deny the sight of it now; it was too late for that.

Fire. It was as plain as day, wound all around the priest's ankles and even spiraling up his calf somewhat, and Zahra was taken slightly aback at the severity of the feeling he got when he made out the name told there. It was overwhelming, and Zahra had to follow the path up higher and try not to look at the word, feeling a strange sort of loss when he did so. He moved up and caught another name, two of them actually, and he realized that they were written one over the other, evidently tied together tightly. Death and Longing, a strange combination, or so Zahra thought. Zahra had always assumed that Sethe was unhappy just from the way that he treated everybody, but he felt as though it ran deeper than just simple misery, and he trailed his eyes upward, seeing much more clearly as he practiced using his new eyesight and wondering if it would come off with the makeup. He halfway hoped so, because what he was doing was making him feel rather tired, and he knew that he hadn't gotten enough sleep but that wasn't the sort of tired that he felt. He was feeling lightheaded and a little disconcerted, as though what he was doing didn't quite belong there, in the normal and everyday world. He shook his head and followed the priest with his eyes as Sethe finished filling the censer and carried it over to one of the tables, sifting through the blocks of incense absentmindedly. He seemed to have forgotten about Zahra entirely, which was fine with him because he was now more than a little curious to see how the priest added up on the inside. He was definitely more interesting to Zahra now that he was wearing the cosmetic and could see past his insanely rude and deliberately insulting behavior.

Across Sethe's shoulders lay a terribly tangled mess of ideas and half formed thoughts, and Zahra had to let his focus slip again in order to make any sense of the pile. It looked as thought the words had just been carelessly tossed there without a second thought, and Zahra wondered if maybe these were things that Sethe didn't wish to address or see. The names of the thoughts were haphazardly drawn, and a few of them had to be caught on their sides or even upside down, which didn't affect Zahra's ability to see the words, it was just something else he noticed about the design. There were names, lots of them, and while they tended to fade in and out with each passing second, blinking like stars, Zahra caught a few of them as they shone in and out of existence. A common one was Atemu, surrounded by others that came less often but strongly, Isis, Mahado, Siamun…Zahra. Zahra couldn't help but blink at the sight of his own name, and he watched that word until a visible path could be made out from it, following it with his eyes. It led to a sight, not a name, and Zahra caught the image of the temple in his mind and immediately felt a foreign emotion surging through his blood, and it caught him off guard, forcing him to separate it from his own feelings so that he could recognize it for what it was. It was something like Jealousy mixed with Resentment and Possessiveness, and Zahra was confused as to why those emotions would be tied up with the temple in Sethe's mind.

Zahra left the name that his eyes were on and drifted his sight back down to the cluttered emotions that he had been watching, having to follow Sethe around the room as he lit the incense and lidded the censer, walking a slow and memorized path around the shrine. Smoke drifted out slowly and then sat in the air, not dissipating or moving but rather creating a fog, and Zahra found that he could see straight through it if he tried. It took a strange sort of effort, remarkably similar to the efforts he had make in order to see things that he was now able to see. The smoke that hung in the air was the purest white, and Zahra lifted his hand and reached to a particular swirl that lay a few inches from his nose, as white and thick as cotton. His fingers passed right through it and the smoke divided around his hand, but it only moved so far and then it settled in the space directly beside where his hand had been. Zahra wondered what color the smoke might have been had he not been wearing the kohl and copper, and he thought that perhaps it was only so white because he could see it. There wasn't even the barest hint of charcoal or gray, and Zahra walked through it and followed Sethe a bit more closely.

Zahra began to feel strange after awhile, and the incense was beginning to make his eyelids feel heavy. Even though he had been able to see things a bit differently, he couldn't remember ever feeling this disoriented until after Sethe had begun to cense the room. The haze was easy to see through if he tried, but something inside the room was changing, and the effects of the incense weren't visible, but Zahra could feel it pressing down on him harder with each moment that passed. Each step he took behind Sethe's became harder, and he found that by the time the priest had returned to the table he had begun at, the room was completely filled with the scent and he could barely take another step. The priest then began to do something else, but Zahra couldn't focus on his hands to see what it was, and every time he tried all he was able to see was the blurry shimmer that surrounded the object that Sethe was holding, whatever it was.

_Strange…_ Zahra thought to himself, feeling very much as though he could hear his own thoughts in his ears. _It feels like something's coming, something's moving, and the room is…the room is changing. And it's so heavy now…I can hardly keep my eyes open._

Sethe turned, having heard what Zahra was mumbling, and he frowned suspiciously at him. "What?"

Zahra's eyes widened when Sethe turned and spoke to him, and he had a vague idea in his ever-clouding mind.

_Did I say that out loud?_

It was the very last thought that he had before the pressure caved in on him finally, and he tried to take a step forward towards the priest but ended up falling instead, and he felt that perhaps he might not have hit the stone floor but he couldn't be sure, and he forgot about it instantly as the fog cleared from his vision and everything fell into darkness.

* * *

AN: Oh, Makiah…we hardly knew ye. Heh. Anyway, this is as accurate as I can possibly write it without it being too boring or too…written in another language. Cause that's irritating. I left out a lot of the anointing ritual due to…unnecessary touching…if you get my drift (you do). It's not quite time for that, not yet. But there will be unnecessary touching…I will see to that. I like unnecessary touching. It makes me happy inside. Yes. Oh, speaking of other languages:

Menket: A kind of linen

Kher Heb: The high priest of the temple. All six of Atemu's priests are looked at as high priests, but Sethe is the only one in complete control of the temple, being the only sorcerer…and of course, because he's so hot.

Gasu Ur: The Great Anointing, a long and really overdramatic purification ceremony that is basically just a priest rubbing oil on fourteen parts of your body and then reciting flowery prose to the gods that govern the various body parts. Too long and boring for fanfiction, but it does hold interesting lemony prospects…more on that later.

"the Nedj": Short for Gasu Nedj, it means The Small Anointing. This is sort of like the Gasu Ur, only it's narrowed down to seven body parts instead of fourteen. Both rites are used for purification and to create the Akh within the initiate, the body of light.


	3. Shemsu Suti

Asylum

By Katsuya Kaiba

* * *

_Ugh…my head. What…?_

Zahra's eyes cracked open slightly and he lifted his hand to his forehead, trying to somehow dull the awful pounding he felt. There was light somewhere near to him, and he shut his eyes again when he realized that it only made his head feel worse.

"You know, I'm beginning to think that you're _trying_ to inconvenience me. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Zahra didn't respond at first, and he bit back the comment that rose to his tongue, not wanting to engage in an argument when he felt so terrible already. Just his voice, that gratingly irritating tone, made Zahra wish that he hadn't awoken at all. What _was_ wrong with him? He couldn't remember what had happened. He allowed his eyes to open once more, this time fully, and he saw Sethe standing over the bed, staring angrily. The bed…? Zahra glanced down, he was lying on Sethe's bed, and he almost wanted to smile at that. If Sethe were really angry, he would have just dumped him on the floor. But no…Zahra met his eyes and saw a mask of irritation, but underneath it hid confusion.

"I…don't know. I don't remember what happened." Sethe's eyes became unreadable for a moment, but he spoke with the same frustration in his voice that he always did, and Zahra was beginning to get the impression that Sethe spoke that way no matter how he felt.

"You passed out. But before that…you said some strange things. What did you mean by that?"

"By what? What did I say?"

The priest huffed impatiently and crossed his arms over his chest, in some sort of unbelievable rush to hurry up and get this over with. "You said something about the room changing, and something coming…it didn't make a whole lot of sense. It was hours ago, now."

Zahra sat up on the bed and cringed at the pain in his head, which was receding slowly but still hit him hard in the center of his forehead. "I just…I think it was the smoke. There was something about it that was changing the way the room felt…and it was too much, it kept pressing down on me…it sounds strange but that's the only way that I can explain it. I was already tired from the way that I was seeing everything…"

Sethe's face lit up guardedly at Zahra's last words, and he stared at Zahra's eyes hard, searching for something. Zahra hoped that the priest couldn't see what he was like underneath, but if he had done it to Sethe, there was no way to hide from him. Zahra looked down at the bed, feeling violated.

"Please…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to see all those things in you, they were just there. I won't do it anymore, I promise, just don't look for it in me like that."

It was brutally silent for a long while after he spoke, and when the priest didn't answer him, Zahra looked up and saw nothing but complete bewilderment on Sethe's face, and even underneath it. He knew then that the spelled cosmetic was still on his eyes, and he immediately cursed himself for seeing underneath the priest's outer image because he had just promised that he wouldn't do it again. He didn't like the way it felt when he thought that Sethe was doing to him what he'd done to the priest earlier, and it was an awful invasion of privacy, but he couldn't control it. He didn't even understand it, and he began to feel uncomfortable with himself.

"Oh! I didn't mean to look just then. Okay, _this_ time I won't do it ever again. I can't help it, it's this stuff you put on my eyes. It's forcing me to see it!" Zahra clenched his fists and tightened his muscles, waiting for the priest to speak and hoping that he would be able to make it stop, or at least explain it so that Zahra could make it stop on his own.

"What can you see?" Sethe sounded calm, much calmer and much more patient than he ever had before, and Zahra relaxed instantly under his tone and ventured another look at the priest. Sethe was closer now, he had taken another step forward while Zahra was turned away and he now stood just inches away from where Zahra sat. With a conscious effort, Zahra found that he could look at Sethe's face without seeing what was underneath it, and he did so with everything he had while he spoke.

"I could see…how you are. How I am, in the mirror. I could see the blue in the fires, and things that you thought, and I thought…and…." Zahra trailed off into silence as he realized that Sethe had no idea what he was talking about, and his eyes widened when he saw that. Didn't he know? Couldn't he see it, as well? Sethe said nothing, and Zahra hesitantly continued, praying that he was wrong and that this was normal, that for just once in his life he could be like everybody else around him. "You…you can't see it."

It wasn't a question; he knew that Sethe couldn't see what he saw. It was written all over his face.

"The flames, yes, I can see that. But thoughts…I'm not sure that it's possible. Are you sure?" Sethe's voice became rough again, and he waited for Zahra to respond. Zahra nodded his head and shifted uncomfortably on the bed, knowing that Sethe didn't really believe him.

_I can't even really believe it myself. Isn't there anything about me that's normal? And now he thinks I'm a liar, and he's looking at me like I'm insane…I might be. _

"Show me." It was a simple enough request, but Zahra instantly felt the pressure to perform well under Sethe's judgment. He didn't want to do it, but he slid himself off the bed and stood silently, waiting for Sethe to ask him in a different way. Sethe took a small step back to give Zahra some room, still watching him cautiously, but he didn't say anything to him and Zahra felt the need to ask.

"What…what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to describe exactly what you see in me…right now." Sethe spoke slowly and deliberately, not as though Zahra were stupid but in a clear and concise way that set Zahra's nerves straight. Feeling somehow better, Zahra stepped back and did as he was told, letting his eyesight wander over the priest and allowing his control to slip, watching as the soundless phrases and thoughts shimmered lightly in his mind. By closing his eyes, he discovered that he could even see them then, although the things that he picked up on when his eyes were shut weren't the same things that he literally saw on Sethe, and he realized that it must be the priest's fickle and immediate thoughts that came through in the darkness. Everything that was written directly on him was exactly the same, so then those must have been the things that made the priest who he was today. It made sense…somewhat. It made about as much sense as it possibly could, and Zahra opened his eyes again and stepped forward, leaning over and pointing at Sethe's ankles, saying the first thing that came into his mind.

"Fire…fire." His finger moved slightly in the air, and he traced the path of flashes and thoughts that encircled Sethe's calves and wound slowly upwards, his eyes losing their focus as he went but still continuing to speak. He didn't bother to listen to himself, knowing that he sounded as disoriented as he felt. "Fire…fire…fire…Memphis…fire…" In the very farthest reaches of Zahra's mind, something began to stir, and he was quiet for a moment, lost in slow thought.

_I know of a place called Memphis…I heard about it a long time ago. It's far, across the Nile and to the south…but it's nothing but barren desert now. Even the floods can't heal that land, not after the entire city burned to the ground. Burned…wait. Oh my god…_ Zahra blinked, glanced up at the priest whose face was completely deserted, and then looked away again, hoping that he hadn't caught what Zahra had found there. _Oh, god…Sethe was there. He must have escaped somehow…but I thought that everyone had been lost. And from what I heard, it was years ago, at least ten or twelve years ago…Sethe must have been so young. I don't dare say anything about it. Maybe that's why he's so awful to everyone…his entire city was destroyed, and he somehow lived. His family…I wonder if they escaped. To be such a young priest…then I suppose not. I bet that he was immediately sent to the temple having no place else to go. Asylum…but who would have sent him, if everyone was dead?_

Zahra concentrated on the trail once more, not wanting Sethe to become impatient with him, and he found the intertwined emotions just above, where they had been before. He spoke them aloud as they came to him, and slowly inched his way up the path, speaking the words as soon as he was sure he saw them.

"Death and longing…right on top of one another…Atemu…" Zahra had seen that name the last time he had looked here, and he wondered who that was, for Sethe to think of him so often. "Heliopolis…Amun-Ra…" That much made sense, Sethe lived in Heliopolis and he kept the temple of Amun-Ra, so the next thing that Zahra saw surprised him very much. "Suti…" Suti was a god, as well, the god of chaos and destruction. How strange, that Sethe should bear the name of both gods, when he only kept one temple. Zahra resolved to guess at it later and continued, making a direct point to not look Sethe in the face, feeling a bit uneasy at how long he had remained silent. Sethe was not a very silent person.

"Suti…Suti…" The intense feel of the god was wrapped around Sethe's spine, which struck Zahra as important, knowing from simple common knowledge that the spine was the only thing that made people able to connect with the gods at all. Why wasn't it Amun-Ra? Zahra moved upwards and let his eyes fall on Sethe's chest, just in front of his heart, and waited. There was nothing there to read or feel or catch, and Zahra thought for a moment that perhaps he wasn't looking hard enough, and he kept trying and waiting for something to strike him. Nothing came, not even after a long and quiet minute. Zahra became worried, wondering if he'd missed it somehow or lost track of where the thoughts lay, but he took a step closer without realizing it and just breathed, listening closely to the sound of the silence in Sethe's heart.

And that, Zahra realized with a start, was the only thing inside of him. Was Sethe completely empty there? He couldn't say for sure, not wanting to make any rash judgments seeing as how he was pretty much making everything up as he went along, and there was no way to know for sure. But he leaned in and closed his eyes, hoping that it would help, and something stirred then but it didn't move or feel like anything at all, and Zahra couldn't stop the hand that rose up from his side and placed itself softly on Sethe's chest, searching for what lay underneath. That was the exact moment that he felt it, the reason that he couldn't read or see anything there. When he touched Sethe over his heart, the way that the place felt to Sethe himself poured into Zahra, and he stood with his eyes still closed and constricted his chest, trying to hold it all in. For what there was in Sethe's heart wasn't a true emptiness, but rather a hollow ache that burned and tore at the place it slept, right inside his heart. It was the absence of something that made him feel at all, and while it was painful for Zahra to catch, he couldn't help but see how much of a struggle Sethe was putting up against it. He wasn't empty, although it looked as though he should be, after he had followed the path up almost to its end. And even though there wasn't anything left inside to fill his heart, there was still the ache of the loss, and the pain that follows the knowledge that something is definitely misplaced. Sethe wasn't empty inside…he was just missing pieces and living on that way.

"Empty…" The word left Zahra's mouth before he could think of it and what it meant, and he felt Sethe's heart speed up considerably under his hand after he'd said it. Then, another hand came up and pushed Zahra's own away, and he opened his eyes and stepped back immediately, pulling himself back into reality with his growing fear. Sethe's face was awfully pale, and Zahra wasn't sure what his expression meant, but underneath his face he could see small hints of exposure and intrusion. He felt as though he might have overstepped his bounds, but he had no clue what he was doing, and Sethe had asked him to tell him everything he saw. There wasn't any way to win.

"That's _enough_. Just stop." Sethe's face lost it's ambiguity and immediately became angry, and Zahra backed away from him and fell back onto the bed, sitting nervously and waiting for Sethe to make his first move. He really hadn't wanted to make Sethe angry…not this time. He wanted answers, he needed help. He had no idea what was wrong with him or why he was seeing and feeling these things, and Sethe was the only person he knew that might be able to help him. But Sethe was angry now, and Zahra felt his composure slipping away as Sethe took a step backwards, then another, and finally he turned and left the room, leaving Zahra alone and miserable on his bed.

The priest didn't walk more than two steps out of the room before he stopped and leaned his back against the wall of the hallway, placing his hand over his forehead and closing his eyes. He had only wanted to see what Zahra had meant, but he certainly hadn't expected to have every inch of his painful past dredged up and spoken aloud to his face. He leaned there and collected himself and his composure, determined to deal with the situation as best he could. As soon as he had mercilessly shoved every image and emotion back down into the place that Zahra had pulled them from, he pushed himself off the wall and turned, walking back into the room.

Zahra looked up at the sound and watched as Sethe reentered the room, his face once more calm and laced with eternal dissatisfaction. He silently walked over to the bed and sat down by Zahra's side, clasping his hands together in his lap and starting thoughtfully at the stone floor. Zahra sat cross-legged in the center of the bed and watched, hoping that Sethe wasn't as upset as he appeared to be. Zahra wasn't sure if he was in trouble or not, from the way that Sethe was acting, and he almost brought his hands up to his eyes and rubbed away the cosmetic, wishing what he had away. Wishing that he was home, and none of this had ever happened, that Makiah was still alive and here to help him. Now the only help he had was Sethe, and Zahra felt that it was a poor trade, regardless of the very valid reasons that he now knew the priest had for being so awful all the time.

"Are you…mad at me?" Sethe turned his head and looked at Zahra vacantly for a moment before turning away again.

"No…don't be ridiculous."

"Oh…" Zahra wasn't sure exactly what to say to that. Obviously the priest was _something_ with him, but he supposed that Sethe would say so in his own time. "What's wrong with me?"

Sethe chewed his lip in thought before answering Zahra's question. "Nothing. It's not wrong, it's just…unexpected. I didn't honestly expect that you would be able to see much of anything, not even the fires. I'm the only one of the priests here who can see even that, but I possess the Neter Maa…and so do you. Much more so than I. I've…I've never even heard of a person who could see all the things that you can."

As Zahra was listening to Sethe speak he felt the awful truth of it sinking in, and his head hung low and he stared at the bed underneath him. He didn't want this, not in the least. He wanted to be like everyone else around him. Well… Zahra glanced up from underneath his blond bangs and caught sight of Sethe's blue eyes and sandy brown hair and felt that perhaps he wasn't the only one here who was left out. It didn't fix how he was, but he didn't feel quite so alone. And Sethe said that he had that special sight as well, although it wasn't the same as Zahra's. It was similar, though, and that meant that Sethe must understand how Zahra was feeling at that moment.

_I wonder if he was as scared as I am right now, when he found out. He must have discovered it much earlier than I did. We're really similar, he and I, except that he's a total jackass, of course. God, I don't want this. I wonder what he'll do with me now. I hope…I hope that I at least get to stay here. He's awful, but I think that he understands…he's being a lot nicer to me now._

"Will you send me away?" Sethe frowned at nothing when he heard that and spoke more forcefully.

"Of course not. If I sent you away I'd be in even more trouble than I already am in, thanks to you. And anyway…" Sethe's eyes grew distant with a hidden memory. "I don't know of a single place in all of Egypt that would help someone like you. The Neter Maa is the mark of Suti…whose people aren't exactly well tolerated, as I'm sure you know. If anyone found out that you had it, granted that they knew what it was, you might find yourself in a lot of trouble. But that's so odd…you've never been to temple, not even once. But you must have been…"

Sethe was right, Zahra did understand what he meant by his words on followers of Suti. Of course, Zahra had never met one before, and he wasn't much on holding unjustified opinions, but from what he had been told over the years living in a sacred city such as Heliopolis, things weren't looking too well for him. They were essentially supposed to be miserable people who thrived on causing trouble for others, destroying order and peace wherever they went. They even looked strange, he remembered someone saying in particular, and the Eye of Heru made them do peculiar things.

_Wait a second…the Eye of Heru? Didn't Sethe say something about that before he drew this stuff on my eyes?_

Zahra thought back to the moments just before Sethe had painted his eyes.

"_You have to emulate the Eye of Heru…"_

"Sethe…didn't you say something about the Eye of Heru? One time I heard that it made followers of Suti act strangely. Is that what happened to me? Am I…?" He asked a question that he didn't know he had inside him, and Zahra's words fell into nothing as he thought about what he'd asked, and how he already knew the answer.

_But…I can't belong to a god that I know nothing about! Do I even have any control over it? I…oh, this is awful. And I do look strange, and weird things do happen to me when I…oh…_

"You…" Sethe sighed and paused, thinking of a way to say what he meant without making it sound as though Zahra's life was over. Zahra looked at Sethe in the eye and saw something underneath his blank expression, something that looked like regretful understanding. "It would be best if you didn't say anything to anyone else about this. The other priests here, they know about me, but they can't do anything about it because the Pharaoh himself knows and gave me this temple anyway, on the condition that I would keep it as his. I'm sure that you noticed the way that they act towards me." His eyes narrowed slightly and he looked away, angry at the mere thought. "Although Isis did look into your future…but I'm almost positive that she didn't see what you are. She would have reacted much differently."

Zahra knew of whom Sethe spoke, and he realized that the nicer priest, the one that he had liked, was named Isis. He had noticed how she seemed to have it in for him, not even letting Sethe get a word in to the Pharaoh to defend his behavior…however inexplicable it may have been. But Zahra was beginning to get a clearer idea of why Sethe was so overprotective of the temple. It had been given to him in faith, regardless of what he was, and it was probably all he had ever known since he'd lost everything. Zahra looked up at the priest and remembered that Sethe didn't know how much Zahra had deciphered about him, and he decided to keep it quiet and see just how much Sethe told him in the coming days. In the meantime, he still had no idea what to do with himself and what he had learned.

"So…what happens to me now? What am I supposed to do with this?" His face felt like it was full of fear, and he knew that it must have been, because his heart felt the exact same way, and he looked at Sethe pleadingly, begging him not to leave him alone with this. Sethe immediately averted his eyes and stood up from the bed, motioning for Zahra to do the same.

"Come on…we're going to the palace." Sethe walked out the doorway quickly and Zahra had to run to catch up. He followed the priest through the temple until they came to the end and through the exact same doorway that Sethe had previously tried to drag him out through. Zahra frowned at the memory; nothing at all was the way it had been yesterday, not even the way that he felt about Sethe. Yesterday he had disliked him greatly, but now…now Sethe was his only chance, the only thing he had that was remotely like him in any way, and he felt a deep need to cling to that desperately. He'd lost too much in too short an amount of time. He still hadn't even cried, for himself, or for Makiah.

Sethe's posture was rigid as he approached the center of the throne room, finding all five priests alongside the Pharaoh, and Isis was the first to see him coming, Zahra closely at his heels. She stepped forward and greeted him politely, but Sethe only ignored her and tried to step past the place that she stood, blocking his way to the Pharaoh.

"If there is something you wish to discuss, I will inform him of it for you." She gave him a look that would have made Zahra run in fear, but Sethe only bristled visibly and then sneered. The Pharaoh was much too far away to hear what was happening between them, and if Sethe made a scene Zahra knew that it would only make him look worse than he already did. But why wouldn't she let him through? Isis ignored Sethe's anger and looked past him, finding Zahra half hidden behind him. Her entire expression altered and she smiled brightly at him, and he found that he could do nothing but smile back. She didn't seem so awful, and she was so nice to him, but he couldn't see the reason why she always felt the need to come between Sethe and the Pharaoh. She had done the same thing to Sethe last time he had been in here, yesterday afternoon when he'd first arrived.

"Hello, Zahra. Is Sethe treating you badly?" Zahra shook his head no, and smiled wordlessly. He wasn't too sure of her intentions any longer, but whatever was happening between her and Sethe wasn't anything to do with him, not yet, at least, and he saw no reason to be mean to her. She was nothing but nice to him. "Well, if he does anything cruel, you come and tell me, alright?" Zahra nodded and smiled again, not knowing what to say to that. She really didn't like Sethe at all. Was it because of what he was? Zahra began to feel grateful that it had been Sethe who had discovered what he had and no one else. _Such luck…_

"If you'll excuse me…I really think that I should be discussing this with the Pharaoh himself." Sethe made to sidestep her but she was too quick for him and followed his steps. "What is your problem?"

Isis's eyes remained calm and she spoke quietly to Sethe. "I've said this before, and I'll say it now: it is my duty to protect the Pharaoh, and I'm doing just that." She was able to imply exactly how she felt without even saying it, but Zahra could see it underneath her skin. She didn't trust Sethe, and she didn't share the same convictions as the Pharaoh did concerning Sethe's abilities as Kher Heb.

_No…she wants the temple. That's what it is. She wants it, and she doesn't think that Sethe is capable of taking care of it. But he is, I've seen him in the shrine, maybe not for long, but I know how he feels about it inside. It's all he's got. _

Zahra closed his eyes and listened, ignoring the flaring rage that he could hear in Sethe's mind and listened for hers, remembering that if he listened and didn't read, he could hear their immediate thoughts and hoped that it worked on everyone and not just Sethe. It wasn't easy, being so close to Sethe in such a bout of fury, but he reached past that and found her thoughts behind them.

_Suti…a child of Suti…in Amun-Ra's temple…_ The thoughts were filled with contempt, and Zahra opened his eyes and pulled away from them, amazed that someone who seemed so nice could be so judgmental underneath.

_I thought that he was mean to everyone because he was just that way…but maybe he's been treated this way since he got here…however long ago that was. You'd think that she might trust in the Pharaoh's judgment. I wonder why he feels differently about Sethe._

"I must say, you've gone far out of your way to make this as difficult as you possibly can. Fine, then…report to the Pharaoh that I have found a great amount of potential in Zahra's abilities and wish to train him extensively, with his permission. His talents lie closely to mine, and I believe that he would do well to work along the same path that I have." Sethe drew himself up confidently and stared coolly into her suspicious expression.

"You mean to make him a sorcerer? But he's just-"

"I don't remember asking _your_ permission. Now, if you would, run along and tell the Pharaoh of my intentions." Isis glared at Sethe but turned away without a word, and Sethe grinned down at Zahra, who smiled quickly back and watched her as she went.

"Is it alright…I mean…will she say that or will she tell it differently?"

Sethe watched her evenly and responded, looking certain of himself. "She wouldn't dare. If she did, it would be found out. I do speak with the Pharaoh occasionally, although she hasn't a clue. He comes to see me personally if he suspects anything is up. We're cousins, you know, and he while he can't force anyone to believe something different than they've been taught, he does watch out for me. He knows perfectly well how they are to me, but he can't say a thing because…because he's the Pharaoh. He's the son of Amun-Ra, the incarnation of Heru, and the eternal enemy of Suti, being such. If he were to defy that…he would be turning his back on his position, and his people."

Zahra could only nod, feeling overwhelmed at the complexity of the situation. Cousins…? Then that might explain why the Pharaoh gave Sethe the chance that he did. But it wasn't as though Sethe wasn't cut out for the job. However, Isis and the other priests must have had different perceptions of that. Zahra thought that they must have guessed that Sethe was given the temple solely based on his familial ties. Especially since he wasn't even one of Amun-Ra's followers. Isis was, Zahra had seen him along her spine briefly as she'd walked away, so she must have believed that she was a much better candidate for the job. But was she? It was too hard to say, Zahra still only had half an idea of what was going on between everyone here but he was starting to think that things ran far deeper than they appeared to. He felt that there was more to it than he was seeing, but before long Isis returned to them and relayed the message that the Pharaoh had sent.

"You have permission to train Zahra in whatever you see fit for him…but the Pharaoh would like to speak with you at length about him later. He said nothing more."

Sethe turned on his heel the instant Isis finished speaking and walked off, and Zahra waved at her before he ran to catch up with Sethe. She smiled and waved back, and Zahra caught up with the priest at the hallway that led back into the temple.

"So…what now?"

"Weren't you listening?" Sethe spoke quietly, walking quickly through the hallways that Zahra had yet to memorize fully. "I have permission to teach you anything I wish, and we're going to start right now. But first…I want to see if my suspicions are correct." Zahra wanted to ask Sethe what he meant by that, but they were coming closer to the main shrine and Zahra was starting to feel strangely. He kept walking directly behind Sethe, and when they turned the corner into the hallway that led into the shrine, the blood in Zahra's veins began to feel colder, the temperature steadily decreasing the closer they came to the doorway. Zahra still wasn't close enough to be able to see into the room, but he felt that by the time he got there, he wouldn't want to. Just the idea of the room twisted something in his stomach, and what made it worse was that when he tried to close his eyes and breath through the feelings he felt them doubly instead, from both himself and Sethe beside him. Zahra opened his eyes and looked up at Sethe, who wore the same expression he always wore, but now Zahra could feel what lay underneath it and he cringed, wondering how Sethe could stand the feeling. The doorway was now in sight and Zahra stopped walking suddenly, standing in the middle of the hallway silently and feeling far too light-headed to take another step.

Sethe paused as well and regarded Zahra with a serious look, watching him sway on his feet for a moment before speaking. "Is this as far as you can go?"

Zahra nodded his head drunkenly and immediately stepped backwards, feeling instantaneous relief at the new amount of distance between him and the shrine. He took another, looking up at Sethe to see what he wanted him to do. Sethe followed him, and seeing this Zahra turned and walked away, leading the priest a bit down the hallway until he felt well enough to act normally. The fogginess in his head cleared and the discomfort registered in his mind, and he looked up at Sethe who was watching him closely.

"What was that?"

Sethe folded his arms over his chest and looked back down the hallway as he spoke. "It was the same thing that caused you to pass out this morning. It's as I thought." Without another word he turned and walked away from the shrine and Zahra, heading someplace unannounced. Zahra was beginning to hate the fact that he did that all the time, but he still felt a little nauseous and decided that catching up with the priest would take enough effort on it's own.

"Hey…" Zahra's steps fell in time with Sethe's and he walked alongside him to a destination that took them into a hall that Zahra didn't recognize. "What do you mean? Why did I feel so awful from being close to that room?" Sethe turned through a doorway that led into a small room, stark and empty compared to the others he had seen. This one was lightly furnished with only a wooden table surrounded by four chairs, and lining three of the four walls were tall bookcases stacked to the breaking point with mostly books, but a few of the shelves had piles of old scrolls, which Zahra had never seen before. They caught his eye momentarily as he followed Sethe to a different bookshelf and watched as he pulled a few books off the piles.

_I wonder how old those scrolls are…no one's even written on scrolls for hundreds of years. Uh-oh…I hope Sethe doesn't expect me to read anything…_

Zahra sat down in the chair beside Sethe and watched him curiously as he opened the first book, flipping through it until he found something that he was evidently searching for, scanning his eyes over the text quickly.

"Uh…hello?"

"What?" Sethe's voice was filled with frustration and he looked up from what he was doing and met Zahra's eyes.

"You never answered me. Why can't I go in that room anymore?"

"Because it will make you sick." Sethe refocused his eyes on the page in front of him, and Zahra exhaled noisily. Just minutes ago Sethe had been acting so nice, and now it looked as though he was back to his old self again.

"I _noticed_ that. But why? I was in there this morning…_you_ know why. I bet you even know why I passed out earlier."

Sethe smiled to himself without looking up from the text. "Maybe I do."

"Well…_tell me_!"

Sethe flipped a page, and glanced up at Zahra's face briefly before reading once more. "I already did. You're Shemsu-Suti."

At that, Zahra found that he could say nothing for the moment. He hadn't really admitted that much, not yet, and he still didn't quite believe that it was true. He had no ties at all to any of the gods, least of all one whose people had been chased out of Egypt long ago, sent instead to live in the Red Lands of the south. It just wasn't logical. And anyway, just because Sethe had insisted that he was this thing, it _still_ did not explain why he had reacted so violently in the shrine, twice now today.

"Are you sure? I mean…couldn't it be something else? You said yourself that the things that you see aren't the same as what I see."

Sethe sighed and turned another page, still searching for whatever it was that he needed. "No, I didn't."

Zahra frowned. "Yes you did. You said that-"

"What I said was that you can see _more_ than I can. I never said that it was different. No…it's exactly the same. _Exactly._" Sethe looked up again, this time with a glare on his face, and then turned his attention back to his book. Zahra sat back on his chair and huffed, wishing all of this away.

"Well, I still don't think so. It doesn't make any sense."

Sethe smirked slightly. "Alright."

Zahra turned his head to face the priest and frowned in his direction, angered somewhat by Sethe's casual dealing with the situation.

"But…you know, you're making this awfully difficult. I don't _like _this…and I don't want it. I don't even understand it, and you won't explain so that I can! All you can say is that now I'm some terrible thing that I didn't even know I was, and it's all thanks to a god that I have no connection with whatsoever! But you, you know everything about this, don't you? Even though there isn't anyone else like you, in all of Egypt to your knowledge." Zahra clamped down on his tongue at last, knowing that if he continued he'd only say things that he didn't mean. And even if he did mean them, they didn't need to be said. He hated to lose his temper, but everything was falling apart all around him, and nothing felt comfortable or familiar in any way. Sethe had looked up from his book long ago and watched Zahra as he spent his anger silently, and it took him a few moments to speak.

"There is now." Zahra said nothing to that and instead looked away from Sethe, choosing to stare moodily at a stack of books in front of him. He closed his eyes and listened, wondering if Sethe really was mad and just holding off his reaction until later, but as Zahra sat silently and heard Sethe's thoughts he could only feel a trace of guilt intertwined with remembrance. Then he felt bad for speaking so thoughtlessly to Sethe in the first place, although he really had meant it all. Still…he opened his eyes and cast his newfound ability aside in his mind, no longer interested in possessing it. He briefly glanced over at Sethe, who was still watching him carefully with a blank expression.

"Look…" Sethe spoke clearly and slowly, without any sort of emotion. "I'm positive, but if you still don't believe it, there isn't anything I can do. I'm only trying to give you what no one gave me…help. There wasn't anyone to help me sort this out, but I can help you…if you'll let me."

Zahra stared at Sethe, not entirely sure if he was hearing him correctly. "What…why?"

"Because…because I don't like it, either. It's just what is. Do you think that I enjoy this? Having to hide away here in the temple all the time, maintaining a shrine to the god who commanded that everyone like me…like _us_, was to be destroyed? Performing that ceremony of justification with Isis and the others…and every one of them staring at me as though they should be performing it on me instead!"

Zahra blinked, confused by the priest's last words. "What ceremony? I thought that none of the other priests come here."

Sethe grimaced and then looked back down at his book angrily. "I wish they wouldn't. Unfortunately, some of the more important rituals have to be done with them. I'll let you read it sometime…no, never mind. I think it's coming up soon. You'll see it for yourself." Sethe's anger began to dissolve when he turned another page in his book. "Here it is…"

Zahra was silent for a long time, lost in thought over Sethe's sudden flash of rage. He hadn't thought that Sethe felt _that_ way about it…he hadn't ever seemed to. Or perhaps no one had ever asked him to talk about it before. Who would have?

_Maybe…maybe he's right. Who knows? If anyone would know, it would have to be him. I suppose it just doesn't make any sense to me because I don't know anything about this stuff._

"Here…I wrote this long ago. It's a spell, one that will help relieve some of the pain of being near the shrine." Sethe pushed the book over to Zahra across the tabletop, and he took it and leaned in close to the page, utterly lost. Still, although he couldn't read it, he was impressed that Sethe was able to do a thing like writing his own spells. Zahra had never heard of something like that before. The thought struck a chord in his mind, and he remembered something that had been said earlier that day.

"_You mean to make him a sorcerer?"_

"What did Isis mean when she asked you about making me a sorcerer?"

"It wasn't that complicated." Zahra threw a glare in Sethe's direction, but it was only half truthful. Sethe smirked and then continued. "She wanted to know if that was what I meant. I did mean it, partially. I had to tell her something that would let the Pharaoh know what was going on with you, but still keep her in the dark. I'm going to tell him about you…but it's nothing to worry about. And I do mean to find out if you have the same talent for Heka as I do."

"I'm sure that he does, if he's anything like you at all."

Both Zahra and Sethe looked up quickly at the unexpected intrusion and found the Pharaoh leaning against the doorway. Zahra panicked for a moment, unsure of what to do in such a presence and he hurriedly tried to stand up, but Sethe caught him by the sleeve and yanked him back down again. He fell back into his chair and looked down at the tabletop, wishing that just once someone would tell him how he was supposed to act. Sethe pointed to the chair across from his, and the Pharaoh walked across the room and sat down in it casually, smiling at Sethe.

"I was wondering when you'd come. Isis wouldn't have much of anything today, but I figured that you'd catch on to my message." The Pharaoh nodded slightly, and Zahra glanced up through his bangs, unable to believe that he was just sitting there in front of him, like any other person might.

"I did. Well…I understood that you needed to tell me something, since you know that you wouldn't need my permission for something like that. What's going on?"

_So…they really must be cousins. They're just talking to one another like normal…it's so weird, though! I'm sure that I can't say anything to him. I wouldn't even know what to say. Oh…I hope he doesn't ask me anything. _

"It's Zahra. He's Shemsu-Suti."

Now Zahra felt pinned under two gazes, both of which he couldn't see since he was staring directly at the tabletop, but he could feel them on his skin, and the sudden silence wasn't helping, either. Sethe had seemed positive that the Pharaoh wouldn't mind, but the longer they both went without speaking, the more Zahra began to doubt Sethe's confidence. He nearly looked up to gauge the Pharaoh's reaction, and had it been anyone else in front of him, he would have.

"Is that so? How did you discover this?"

Zahra instantly relaxed at the Pharaoh's words, which were more curious than anything. He didn't dare try to hear what he was thinking, and instead he glanced up at Sethe to his side, who was leaning his elbows against the table and looking at the Pharaoh.

"He has the Neter Maa…but it's more than just that. He can see things…things that I've never even heard of before. And who knows what else. I haven't had a chance to try and help him sort it all out yet, but I have a feeling that there's more in him, somewhere. He just woke up not too long ago."

"What happened?"

Zahra listened as Sethe sat back in his chair. "The shrine made him sick. And it's not like how I used to get. This is ten times worse, at least. He began acting strangely as soon as I drew the udjat on him, and as I was purifying the room he followed me around, mumbling to himself and looking rather ill, but I certainly wasn't expecting him to be what he is, so I didn't pay too much attention. Then, the second that I broke the seal, he fell to the ground, unconscious."

The two of them fell into silence for a few moments, lost in thought, and Zahra couldn't help himself any longer, and he snuck a look at the Pharaoh through his bangs. Their eyes met, and Zahra pulled his away as fast as he could, praying that he hadn't done something wrong and cursing himself for the indulgence. He wished that they could have had this conversation without him.

"Will he be alright?"

"Of course. I dug up a spell, the same one that you helped me to write when I first arrived. I think it will help him, but I'm not sure to what extent, since we designed it specifically for use on me. Since he's so deeply affected by the presence, I may have to modify it. But," Sethe smiled across the table, "then again, I never was as good as you were at writing spells."

The Pharaoh chuckled deeply at that. "True. If only I could perform them. I have absolutely no skill with Heka, as you well know. But what about him?"

"I've no idea what he can do. I don't even know who his Ba is, and to be honest, I'm hesitant to find out. If we draw it out of him too quickly-"

"It will break him." The Pharaoh finished Sethe's sentence for him. "But what did you mean about his Neter Maa? What is it that he can see?"

Sethe paused, unsure of what to say. "I…I don't know how he does it. But he can see things just by looking at a person, or so it would seem. Come to mention it…" Sethe turned in his seat and faced Zahra, who met his gaze out of the corner of his eye, "I never asked. Zahra…how did you see all of those things?"

Zahra froze, instantly terrified. He gaped at Sethe, who was looking at him expectantly, and he tried to speak but no words would come out. Zahra then turned his head and saw that the Pharaoh, too, was waiting for him to speak. More than anything…he wanted to run.

"Is he always this talkative?" Sethe snickered at the Pharaoh's words, never once taking his eyes off Zahra.

"_You_ should come here more often. This is the first time he's shut up since he got here."

Hearing this, Zahra lifted his head up and frowned at Sethe, and both Sethe and the Pharaoh laughed aloud.

"Zahra…" The Pharaoh spoke quietly and Zahra watched him warily. "What did you see in Sethe?" Zahra blinked nervously and glanced over to the priest, who nodded at him slightly and waited, leaning back in his chair. Zahra then turned back to look at the Pharaoh and thought back to all that he had discovered by reading Sethe.

"I saw…a fire, in Memphis. And…" Zahra paused when he saw the look that the Pharaoh gave him, one of pure shock and disbelief, "and I saw Suti…along his spine. And I saw…I kept seeing a name. Atemu." Zahra looked over at Sethe. "Who is that? I see it on you all the time."

"That is _my_ name." Zahra redirected his eyes back to the Pharaoh and nodded, not sure of what to say about it. It made sense, since they were family, and seemingly such good friends. Zahra had never seen Sethe acting so pleasant before, and it was a nice change, although he was pretty sure that it would disappear along with the Pharaoh when he left. "That is quite a gift you have. But Zahra," The Pharaoh leaned in closer and looked deep into Zahra's eyes. "I wouldn't tell anyone that you could do that. Let Sethe deal with them, and just help him here in the temple. He spends far too much time alone in the dark these days." Zahra smiled at him, knowing it was the truth, and he smiled back. The Pharaoh then stood up from his seat and took a step back towards the door, looking at Sethe the entire time.

"Leaving so soon? Actually, before you go, there was something that I wanted to ask you." The Pharaoh paused and waited for Sethe to speak again. "Yesterday…when Isis saw into Zahra's future, she said that his future was intertwined with my own. Did she tell you how?"

The Pharaoh nodded his head and smiled strangely, moving towards the doorway once again. "She did. But I'm afraid that I'm not at liberty to tell you what she saw. I will say this, though. It's not just mere coincidence that Zahra came here. What he is alone should tell you that. And I'm glad…" He tilted his head to the side and smiled at the two of them. "I'm glad that Zahra is like you. You're far too lonely for your own good." He turned and walked out the doorway without another word.

"Hmph. Anyway…let's see about this spell. Did you read it?"

Zahra turned to Sethe and chewed his lip nervously. He knew that this had been a long time coming.

"I can't."

"Why not?" Sethe already sounded frustrated. Zahra cringed, but he spoke again.

"I don't know how…" Sethe should have guessed, really. He knew Zahra's past, at least enough of it to know that if he did know how to read it would have been a miracle. Sethe stared at Zahra with an odd expression before closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead with his fingers.

"…I suppose I should have known that. Oh…now what? I can't teach you how to read…that would take forever. Years, at least. But then…I suppose we do have that long, don't we? Do you _want_ to learn how to read?" Zahra nodded his head. He had wanted to, and he'd even tried to learn, but Makiah hadn't known enough to teach him very well. Sethe picked up the book he had been reading and stood up from his chair. "I'll teach you, but not right away. First, we have to do something about that sickness, and I have just the thing. Let's go." Zahra followed Sethe out of the room, wondering if someday he would be able to read just as easily as Sethe did. He hoped so, he'd been more than just a little jealous watching the priest reading everything as though it were nothing at all, and easy as anything. And then perhaps Makiah would never be quite gone from him, not if he learned how to do the thing that Makiah had tried to teach him. It would be like keeping him inside forever, in a strange way, and Zahra couldn't wait to see if he could really do it.

* * *

Memphis: An Egyptian city across the Nile and south from Heliopolis. The ancient capital of the old kingdom. Ht-Ki-Pth is it's actual name, but Memphis sounds cooler, and anyway, I burned it to the ground, so it's not like it matters.

Heliopolis: A sacred city dedicated to the worship of solar deities, Heliopolis meaning 'city of the sun' in Greek. Another name I felt would be better left in it's Greek translation, which is much more accessible to the common reader. In Egyptian, it's called Iwnw-on.

Amun-Ra: The king of all the Egyptian gods and creator of all. The Patron deity of every Pharaoh by necessity and not by choice.

Suti: Set, Seth, Setekh, Sut, Sutekh, Suty…you get the picture. One of the very first gods in Egypt, but then just as quickly cast out and made into an adversary as soon as the cult of Asar (Osiris) took the rule of Upper and Lower Egypt as one. Associated with chaos, crazy weather, the red desert and all foreigners and strange looking people.

Neter Maa: Divine Observance, the sight of gods

Shemsu-Suti: A child a Suti; one of Suti's own.

Heka: Magick

Udjat: Another term for the Eye of Heru

Ba: A part of one's soul that can leave the body and take on different forms. This is the same thing that the priests in the memory arc took from people to create the duel monsters.

AN: So...do you like it? Drop me a line if you do. I realize that this has very little to do with Yu-Gi-Oh...but there we are, then. This isn't really about Yu-Gi-Oh, anyway, it's about Sethe and Zahra. Thanks for reading!


	4. Eye of Moon

Asylum

By Katsuya Kaiba

* * *

Sethe led Zahra to a far end of the temple that he'd never seen before, and the sheer size of the thing didn't really strike him until just then. The hallways begin to get darker as well, not having near so many light sources as the more accessible area of the temple had, and the shadows on the walls flickered and stirred as Zahra walked by them, closely behind Sethe. He didn't like the dark so much.

"Where are we going?" Instead of answering, Sethe turned into a doorway, the second to last one left until the hall itself ended in a stone wall. This room wasn't as big as the shrine had been, but it wasn't nearly as small as the room they had just left, either. There were only three bookshelves against the far wall, but there wasn't a single book in the entire room. On the shelves were bottles and containers, small wooden and gold boxes and all sorts of strange things that Zahra had never seen before. In the very center of the room was a table, a wooden one, but it was completely bare, and Zahra looked up at Sethe before he moved into the room.

"Come in. It's a working room, there isn't anything to make you sick in here." Zahra stepped in cautiously, then as realized that he felt exactly the same, he moved more towards Sethe, waiting to see what he meant for him to do in here. He couldn't ask right at the moment, knowing that Sethe was after him to do something, but in awhile he would have to demand that Sethe explain to him just why he had felt so awfully in that other room. "Any spells that aren't part of a ritual have to be done in here."

Zahra's eyes widened as he heard the priest. "You're not going to make _me_ cast a spell…are you?" Sethe set his book down on the empty table and walked over to the bookshelves, digging absentmindedly through the items.

"Not alone…no." He spoke with his back facing Zahra, searching for the spell components. "But this is a good opportunity for me to see what you can do. _If_ you can do anything at all. Having divine sight doesn't necessarily mean that you'll be creative enough to control Heka. But honestly…" Sethe turned away from his search and eyed Zahra curiously for a moment, "if you can't, I'll be surprised. I'd be surprised to find much of anything you can't do. But I need your help to find out. You have to tell me if you feel strange or differently at anytime, or if you find that you're experiencing something like what you did this morning. Something new. I know that you have the Neter Maa, but it's so strong that it might be running over into your other senses, as well."

Zahra thought about that for awhile as Sethe moved to the next shelf and pushed around a few boxes.

_So this Neter Maa is limited to sight, then. But how does that explain my hearing? It wasn't just the reading that I could do…I could hear them, also. Oh…Sethe doesn't know. Should I tell him…yes. If something's not right, he'll know if anyone does. _

"Sethe…?"

"Hmmm?" He didn't turn away from the shelf to speak as he was collecting things in his hands, and Zahra followed him as he carried a few of the items over to the table in the middle of the room.

"I think that I can do something that I didn't say anything about." Sethe looked up as he was arranging things on the tabletop, waiting for Zahra to speak again with a blank expression. "I can…hear things, too. If I close my eyes and listen, instead of reading, I can hear what someone's thinking. It's weird…it's like, the things that I can see aren't really there, it's just what everyone is made of, inside. The things that happened to them that made them what they are. But when I listen, it's the things that they're thinking right in that moment that I can catch."

Sethe watched Zahra closely as he spoke, standing up from over the table and frowning confusedly. "What? Wait…are you sure?"

Zahra shook his head no. "No…I don't know! That's why I'm telling you. You told me to tell you about things like that. I have no idea what it really is…that's just the impression that I get." Sethe abandoned his frown and settled for another expression, a calm and convincing stare.

"Alright…" He paused and crossed his arms, thinking silently for a moment. "Ask me a question."

Zahra blinked. "What?"

"Ask me something…I don't care. Then try and catch the answer." Zahra nodded his head and then thought quietly for a moment.

"Um…how many rooms are there in the temple?" He closed his eyes and felt for the place that Sethe was standing in, not more than a few feet away, and he caught something and said it aloud. "Twenty-one." Zahra opened his eyes and found Sethe with an odd look on his face, but he didn't say anything. "Well…? Is that right?"

"It is…I just…don't really know what that could be. How you could do something like that…do it again."

"Okay…um…" Zahra thought more carefully, trying to think of something that would be more difficult to catch. "Why are your eyes blue?" Zahra made close eye contact with Sethe just before his lids slipped shut, and the look on his face told Zahra that he might not have the real answer to that question. Zahra allowed his eyes to close anyway, searching for an answer in the darkness before him. He felt as though he nearly had it, but it slipped his grasp and he reached out further somehow, still not able to understand what it was that brought the thoughts to him, but he sought it anyway, to the best of his abilities. He came up empty-handed once again, and he let his eyelids open, trying to think of what he could say to Sethe. He'd lost it, somehow. Perhaps he wasn't practiced enough in this yet, whatever it was. There was no way to tell, and even Sethe probably wouldn't know to the answer to that.

As soon as his eyes began to open he searched for Sethe, but instead found himself quite alone, standing in the center of an endless expanse of desert. The second he realized where he was, every sense he had kicked in and made this place real, and the wind immediately began whipping closely against him, pulling the long fabric of his sleeves over his hands and his hair in every which way. It was the darkest hour of the night, and Zahra panicked instantly, stepping quickly to the place where Sethe had been moments ago, but he already knew deep down that he was not here, and that no one was, save himself. He couldn't feel another soul. Zahra lifted his eyes to the horizon, barely visible against the black sky, and he realized that the only reason he could see it was that the horizon itself was crimson in color. He looked down and saw the sand that his toes dug into, red as blood, and he knew then that this place, however he had gotten there, was outside of Egypt. He hadn't ever been there, but he knew of it, and knew what it was.

He was in the Red Lands…somehow. The very place that Suti himself had been banished to, along with his people. Zahra couldn't remember why, but he knew that it had something to do with what Suti had done, long ago, although the particulars of the tale escaped him. He hadn't heard it since he was very small. It was a story that the people of Heliopolis weren't too interested in telling.

"…Sethe?" It was barely above a whisper and the strong winds immediately carried the word away from him, leaving Zahra alone in the silence and the sand. For a moment he felt as though his limbs wouldn't move an inch, but he took a deep breath behind his sleeve, turning his face away so that he couldn't breath in the sand in the air. The motion of lifting his arm awakened his body and he took a step forward and then paused, looking all around him in every direction. It was hopeless…there wasn't even a dip or hill in the sand, and just by looking at the horizon he knew that the desert was endless.

_Alright…it doesn't really matter, anyway. This obviously can't be real…I know for a fact that I was just standing in that temple with Sethe, and now I'm probably passed out again on the floor. Again…that's the second time today. Oh… _Zahra fell to his knees and covered his face with his hands, biting back the tears that threatened to come. _What is wrong with me? This isn't real, it isn't…but I don't know how to leave. What should I do? I wish Sethe were here. He would know what to do. I shouldn't have asked him that…_

Frustrated with himself and his question, Zahra lifted his hands and held onto his arms, trying to hide at least part of himself from the cold. The sand was still warm, but the air all around him was freezing, and the tearing wind only made it worse. He lifted his foot and pushed himself up, standing once more and staring thoughtlessly at the ground, digging his feet into the sand, trying to keep them warm.

His toe hit upon something and he jumped back, startled by the cold touch against his skin, buried in something so warm. He blinked, then leaned over and stuck his fingers into his footprint, pushing the sand away until he uncovered what it was that he had touched with his foot and closed his fingers around the cold stone. It was a piece of Hematite, and Zahra frowned at it as he opened his fingers and stared at the stone in his palm, brushing away some of the sand that clung to it.

_How did this get all the way out here…? I'm just about ready to wake up from this dream._

Zahra closed his eyes and gripped the stone almost painfully. "Take me back." Something gripped his shoulders and jarred him, and he opened his eyes again in shock, almost afraid of what it might be that had him. Zahra instantly focused on blue, and his eyes widened fully as he realized that it was the priest who had him by the shoulders, and Sethe immediately stopped trying to wake him up as soon as he saw that Zahra could see him. Zahra looked past him and into the room, and sighed in relief as he realized that this was the same room, and he was still there and not in the Red Desert.

"Hey…hello? What happened to you?" Zahra slowly brought his eyes back to Sethe's and he tried to hear what the priest was saying to him, but everything in his eyes seemed a bit off somehow, as if it were playing through at a slightly slower pace than it was supposed to and was still trying to catch up.

"….What?" Zahra stared at Sethe and blinked, wondering why he felt so oddly. "Oh, look what I found." Zahra lifted his hand up and tried to look at the hematite, only to find that it wasn't there. "Hey, where'd it go? Maybe I dropped it…" He bent over and tried to look for the stone, but Sethe pulled him back up and stared at him angrily, to which Zahra could only look confused. "What?"

"What was all that about? You just stopped talking all of a sudden, and you wouldn't respond to anything I did or said. Where were you?" The disorientation began to fall away from Zahra's mind, and he remembered his fear and where he had been.

"I…I was in the Red Desert. I tried to find the answer to the question, but instead I found that…and I couldn't leave. But then I asked to come back, and I was here again. And it was so cold and dark…" Zahra physically shivered at the memory and felt his muscles tighten in fear. He looked up at Sethe and frowned. "What happened?"

Sethe shook his head. "I have no idea. It's…" He sighed and looked to his left, at the table that still stood in the center of the room, just as Zahra remembered it. "It's been a long day. Why don't we finish this up and then you can just go and lie down while I seal the shrine?" Zahra nodded, not wanting to deal with much else, either. He could tell that Sethe had a lot on his mind already, and Zahra knew that he wasn't really helping him out much at all. He felt sort of badly about that, knowing that the entire reason he was staying here was to help Sethe, and all he had done so far was become an extra burden for him to bear, and a heavy one at that. Sethe motioned for Zahra to follow him to the table, and they stood side by side as Sethe opened one of the boxes he had pulled from the shelf and pushed it over to Zahra. His eyes were on Zahra closely, and he was just about to speak when Zahra smiled brightly and reached out for the box.

"There it is! I found this in the desert…see?" He held it up to Sethe, who gave him a strange look before speaking.

"Is that so? I've had that stone in here for years. I _was_ going to ask you to pick the one you wanted to use, but it looks as though you've already done that." His voice was relaxed and he pulled the box back towards him and closed the lid, pushing it to the side of the table and out of the way.

"Are you sure? The stone that I had looked _exactly _like this one…there's no difference. Except this one has wire wrapped around it…but it feels the same in my hand." Zahra closed his fingers around it just the way he had in his dream, and nothing at all was different. "Can I pick this one?" Sethe nodded and took it from Zahra, who frowned at the priest but didn't try to stop him. Sethe reached for something on the table and Zahra saw that it was a string of red tjehnet beads, and he slipped the hematite onto the end of the necklace by the wire that was wrapped around it and let it slide to the center of the string. Sethe handed the necklace to Zahra, who took it from him and admired it, hoping that it was something that he would get to wear. The only jewelry he had were his old bracelets and anklets, none of which were attractive or had any pleasant connotations. He hadn't taken them off, however, not sure as to what his status was and preferring to wait until someone else brought them up. Maybe he'd mention it to Sethe later. But this, however, he could deal with. The red beads brought out the opalescent black in the stone, and the colors would look even more drastic against his skin.

Zahra looked up and watched Sethe as he wrote something down, drawing out the symbols easily and fluidly, and then setting the page down in the middle of the table. He walked over to the bookshelf and brought back a gold dagger and an iron cauldron, the cauldron being small enough to where Sethe could easily hold it in one hand. Zahra focused his attention closely to the priest, curious about what was happening and what his part in it might be. Zahra hoped that it was small.

"Here…give me that." Zahra reluctantly gave the necklace back to the priest, and he took it and placed it in the center of the page that he had written all over. He then folded the page in half, over and over again until the necklace was folded in the center of a small square of papyrus, which Sethe set on the tabletop. The priest reached for the dagger, and before Zahra could ask him what he meant to do with it he had already seized Zahra's hand and cut a small gash on the top of his hand, just below his knuckles.

"Hey!" Zahra tried to yank his hand away from the priest, but the look on Sethe's face stopped him instantly, and his cry of pain caught in his throat. Sethe hadn't looked at him like that since…since before he had known what Zahra was, and the feeling it gave him was unpleasant, to say the least. Zahra kept himself quiet, and Sethe lifted the wrapped necklace to Zahra's hand and pressed it against the cut, taking Zahra's other hand and holding it over the papyrus. Sethe let go but Zahra's hand held it there over the wound, soaking up his blood, and meanwhile Sethe began to pick up everything he had brought from the shelves and put them back where they belonged, leaving only the dagger and the cauldron behind.

"Just hold that there until I'm finished, and try your best to relax." Sethe's voice was calm and patient, and Zahra watched him as he spoke, wondering what he was supposed to do. "Move forward…right there." He placed Zahra so that he stood directly before the table and right in front of the cauldron, and as he peeked over the edge of it he saw that it was half filled with the same red sand from his dream. "Now, just face that table and don't move around…I'm going to be right behind you." Zahra turned his head and saw Sethe standing a few feet behind him, still clutching the hilt of the dagger in his left hand. "You're going to perform this spell, all by yourself."

"But-!"

Sethe held his hand up and Zahra silenced himself. "Stop. You can do this. I wouldn't have you do something I didn't think that you could do. Just try it, and if you really can't, then I'll do it for you. But you'll never know until you try." Zahra closed his mouth and nodded, knowing that it was the truth. He did want to know, and this was the only way to find out just what he could do. And if Sethe really believed in him that much, then he supposed that it was worth a try. Zahra trusted Sethe more than he did any other person at the moment, and he knew that Sethe at least understood how he felt.

"This is what I'm going to do. Normally, if you were going to use Heka, you would have to draw it from someplace. But since you don't know the spell for that, I'm going to cast it for you and then allow you to use it. You understand?" Zahra nodded; amazed that he really did get it, at least somewhat. "Then, you're going to take my Heka and use it for your own spell. Are you ready?"

Zahra nearly turned around and faced the table, but he thought of something just then. "Wait! I don't know how the spell goes!"

Sethe raised the blade of the knife vertically in front of his face. "You will." Zahra sighed and faced the table, pressing the papyrus into his hand with more pressure, trying to relieve the stinging sensation that crept along his fingers.

_He could have at least warned me. I hope that he's right about me knowing that spell, because I have no idea what he's doing back there._

"Nuk Tem-Khepera kheper t'esef her uart mut-f.

Ertau unsu en ami Nu, behennu en amiu t'at'at.

Ask temt-na heka pen entef, kher se entef kher-f, betenu er thesem, khak er sut…"

Sethe spoke quietly and quickly, almost mumbling the words to himself, and Zahra felt that even though he understood what they meant, the sort of feeling that they brought barred him from fully hearing them correctly. Instead of hearing them as he normally would, he listened and then watched as the sound of them fell all around him and trickled through the air, weaving around his arms and into his skin as small crimson threads of nearly transparent mist. He didn't dare move as Sethe continued to speak and he spotted a few more of them out of the corner of his eye, and he desperately tried to keep his attention directly in front of him, wondering if the only reason that he could see it was because he still wore the spelled cosmetic. It frightened him, but he tried to keep still as Sethe had directed him to and watched as the red strings wound around his neck and his waist, assimilating themselves into Zahra and then disappearing from view.

"…Erta-entu mut seref en neteru.

Ask erta-na heka apen kher enti-f betenu er thesem, khak er sut, khak er sut."

Sethe stopped speaking suddenly and Zahra only noticed it distantly, feeling tense without really knowing why, and just a little too full to be comfortable. Full of what, he couldn't say, or why he felt that way, but it was all that his mind could decipher of the foreign sensation. He tried to move, but found that it was far too difficult, and just the effort made him feel sleepy, as though he would fall asleep on his feet if he tried to walk across the room. He watched the tabletop under half open lids, until a heavy pair of hands came around from behind him and slowly pulled the wrapped necklace out of his slackened grip and reached forward, placing it in the cauldron. Zahra vaguely noticed that it was covered in blood, and he wondered if it was his, and then realized that it had to be. His thoughts came gradually and they were less literal than he remembered them being, and before long he could feel breath on his ear and hands on his shoulders, and Sethe's voice came from out of nowhere.

"What did you see?" It was so quiet that only Zahra could hear, and he thought for a moment before responding.

"…Red."

Silence, then Sethe spoke again. "How do you feel?"

"…Dizzy." It was the truth, he felt so heavy that he was afraid he might fall over if he didn't watch his balance, and he leaned back into Sethe's steady grip. One of the hands came off of his shoulder and pointed to the papyrus in the sand.

"Do you remember that necklace inside there?"

Zahra nodded. He remembered the red and the black, and he smiled. Sethe's hand came back to Zahra's shoulder and he tightened his grip.

"I want you to take the Red that I gave you, and send it into that necklace. You can feel it inside, can't you?"

"Yes…" Zahra's responses sounded emotionless and plain, but it was the best that he could do under the pressure. Something was pressed into his palm, and then Sethe closed Zahra's fingers around the hilt of the blade and lifted his arm until he was pointing the tip of the dagger directly at the folded papyrus. Zahra felt unsure of himself, but he searched for the threads that had slipped inside of him and found them scattered within. He took them out of himself one at a time, carefully guiding them in his mind until each and every one of them had been twisted around the blade, and then he waited for Sethe to speak again.

"You see? You _can_ do this…now just take them a little farther." Now that the Heka was out of him, Zahra felt slightly better and then much less self assured in his abilities, but he had done the first part pretty easily, so he set his mind on the dagger and concentrated once more on the red magick wound around the gold in his hand. Every piece of it had come together as one, and now he let the muscles in his body relax and he sent his thoughts in a stream that led to the necklace, not pushing or pulling but simply allowing the Heka to follow his path of thought to it's destination. Although he could barely even see it but for the ruby shadow in his mind, he knew that it was following his lead and sinking into the necklace, and Zahra could both see it and feel it happening in the same moment. The last of it was gone, but some of the dizziness still remained, and he wasn't sure why since there was nothing left inside of him.

"Sethe?" Zahra tried to turn around, but Sethe's grip on his shoulders was solid and he held him firmly in place.

"Almost. There's one last thing, but it won't be hard. The difficult part is done, and you did it easily." Sethe's whisper made Zahra smile, for an unknown reason, but it felt somewhat like pride. Sethe reached out from behind Zahra and took the dagger from his hands, pushing his arm down to his side, and Zahra's mind jumped at the realization that he'd completely forgotten about his arm being in that position.

"What is it?"

"Can you see it in the necklace?" Zahra could, and he nodded his head slowly. The shadow lay over the entire cauldron. "Use that, and burn the paper."

Zahra froze. He couldn't do that…could he? "What?"

Sethe was patient, and he repeated himself carefully. "You have to set it on fire. Just try it."

"But…I can't."

Sethe's voice strengthened, and his whisper rose just slightly. "Of course you can. With that color Heka, you can do much more. You can make it become anything you wish. All you have to do is create it."

"But…no one can do that." Zahra couldn't fathom such a possibility, and his mind began to reject the entire spell. Sethe felt it as it was happening, and his fingers wrapped even tighter around Zahra's shoulders.

"I can do it." At that, Zahra paused in his mind and reconsidered. He believed that Sethe could.

"You can…?"

"Of course. And so can you. I _believe_ that you can do it, and who would know better than I?" Zahra said nothing to that, but fully agreed in his mind. "That Heka will become fire the second that you want it to. That's all it's for…it exists for you to control. Now control it." The steady breath disappeared from his ear, and Sethe stood upright behind Zahra, leaving his hands on his shoulders so that Zahra would know he was still there. Zahra breathed in deeply and watched the barely-there garnet shade that was coloring the light beige of the papyrus, knowing that Sethe truly believed that he could do this on his own. If Sethe thought so, then it was most likely so, and Zahra closed his eyes, noticing that he could see the Heka much more clearly this way, with nothing standing between them physically. He hesitantly reached out mentally, using the exact same method he used when trying to catch the thoughts of others in front of him and found that he could catch this in almost exactly the same way. It pulled towards him faintly when he reached out, and he let it fall back, not wanting to move it again but rather transform it into something else.

He kept his eyes closed and stared at it, trying to conjure up the image of a flame in his mind, a candle burning, the fires in the temple halls, but nothing struck him visually enough for him to send it all the way to the necklace, and he racked his mind, trying to think of anything that would spark an reflection strong enough to use. There was something, something that stood out in his memory, but he wasn't sure if it was the right thing to use. He thought back anyway, knowing that he had to try something.

_He glanced back warily, staring suspiciously at the white-hot flames that now burned in a light shade of crystal blue…_

Zahra's eyes opened just in time for him to see the spark that set the entire cauldron aflame, and he instinctively pushed himself back with his feet, trying to put some distance between his face and the cobalt blaze that burned away the papyrus within seconds. His back hit Sethe's front but the priest was steady on his feet and he caught Zahra before he could fall, and Zahra watched as the fire vanished just as quickly as it had come, leaving not a trace of the Heka behind. He wasn't sure what to do at this point, but the vertigo that had gripped him earlier was gone, and he felt as though he _knew_ that the spell was finished for sure.

_It wasn't hard at all…in fact; it was just a little too easy. And I knew…I knew how to do everything. Sethe didn't even need to tell me, I just did everything as it came…just as he said I would. How could he have known…how could _I _have known any of that?_

Zahra felt uneasy with himself, not entirely sure if he was the same person who had come in search of asylum just yesterday. But then, he could do something, he was more than what he had been, and that was reassuring. Sethe had seen it, and he had been right. Perhaps he was right about everything else, as well, and maybe Zahra was Shemsu-Suti. Zahra had no way to tell, and if he had trusted Sethe before, it was ten times as strong in that moment, when the spell was finished and Zahra realized that he had cast it, all on his own. He turned his head and he met Sethe's eyes and felt oddly about it, as though something was different. Not about Seth, and not about himself, but in the ties between the two of them. It was something about sharing his Heka, about casting the spell with Sethe that made Zahra feel as though their connection sunk a bit lower, and ran a little deeper than it had hours ago. The strange feeling was completely gone, and as Zahra looked at Sethe he spoke, not meaning to and not entirely sure of what he meant to say, and wondering if it was even his own thought.

"I knew that it would be blue." Sethe stepped up to the table and stood alongside Zahra, reaching his hand to the necklace that lay in the center of a pile of ash on the red sand, wrapped tightly against itself.

"I was just about to say that." Sethe smirked and then lifted the necklace and untangled the strings, which had been bound up tightly until moments ago. "Here, turn around." Zahra faced away from Sethe and watched as the necklace came down in front of his face and lowered around his neck, and he could feel Sethe's fingers working the ends into a knot against his skin. "Just don't take it off…it will stave off most of the sickness that you felt earlier. So tomorrow, we're going to try it again, and this time let's hope that I won't have to cart you back into my room in the middle of everything."

"I'm sorry about that." Zahra felt badly about the extra problems he was creating for the priest, and while he knew that mere hours earlier he would have welcomed such a concept, it had somehow lost it's flavor in the happening of the day, and Sethe's words left nothing but a bad taste in Zahra's mouth. The priest had more than enough on his mind, it seemed.

"Well…don't be. You couldn't have known, and neither could I." Sethe put the remaining items away on the shelf and led Zahra out of the room.

"Why couldn't I have known?" Zahra asked, but then realized that it had made much more sense in his head, and he rephrased the question. "I mean, how come I never noticed any of this before? If I'm so special…then why am I just finding out today? Was I always like this?" Zahra quickened his pace so that he could walk alongside the priest and he looked up into his eyes.

"Always. The gods choose their Shemsu before birth, so you have always been this way. And since you've never been to a temple, that would mean that you've never worn an Eye of Heru before, wouldn't it?" Zahra nodded and watched Sethe as he continued. "It's the eye itself that gives you Neter Maa…although I honestly have no idea where your other talents come from. It could be from the Eye, but we'll find out in a while."

Sethe had led Zahra back into the area of the temple he knew much better, and he could see the doorway to Sethe's room just ahead. More than anything Zahra just wanted to fall down on his bed and go straight to sleep, but the stone floor from the previous night was his immediate future, and he cringed as he recalled the way his neck had felt in the morning. He'd worn himself out by simply _being_, and he hoped that tomorrow wouldn't bring as many life-altering surprises as today had. His stomach cried out and he clutched at it, feeling that at least part of his weariness must be due to the fact that he hadn't had a spare second to eat all day long. He wasn't sure what time it was, but he had gotten up so early that he didn't care as much as he used to about falling asleep early. And anyway, Makiah was dead now, and Zahra didn't live there anymore, so there was nothing to stay up for. Days ago Zahra would have battled with his weariness and forced himself to stay awake so that he could sneak out in the night and meet Makiah, but Zahra realized just then that there wasn't anything left to fight for, and he could sleep or not sleep, whichever he saw fit. No one was waiting for him anymore.

"I'm _really_ hungry…is there any food here?" Zahra walked through the doorway and turned, waiting for Sethe to follow him inside. "Hey, aren't you staying?"

"No…I told you that I have to seal the shrine. Just wait for me in here, and I'll bring you back something to eat. Alright…?" Zahra nodded his head reluctantly and watched as Sethe left him alone, noticing that the idea of Sethe leaving him alone was far more tragic than it had been yesterday.

_I almost wanted to ask if I could go with him...but I'm usually just getting in his way, so maybe I should just stay here. I just…I guess I just don't want to be alone right now. Too much, this day has been far too long, and I know it's still not over. I hope Sethe isn't long in there. If I sit here in silence, I know I'll only think about Makiah._

It was too late, and Zahra sat down on the edge of the bed without thinking and slumped his shoulders, biting down on his bottom lip in an effort to hold off the tears, but they came anyway. He remembered the way that he had cast that spell so easily, and he cried even harder, feeling stranger than he ever had. Everything that had happened to him since he'd woken up, since he'd run away even, bore down heavily on his mind and he cried for each and every memory, crying because he knew that he couldn't go back, and he'd never be who he was two days ago. It was almost as though _he _had died along with Makiah, and now he was living someone else's life, when inside he knew that he should really just be dead and gone. If he hadn't run away that day, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that he would be dead, truly dead, and he thought about regretting the choice he made, feeling that he didn't deserve this fate more than Makiah did. Why had he escaped alone? Why hadn't they run off sooner, together? Then Zahra would have at least a shred of something familiar around him, something that made him Zahra. He wasn't even sure who he was, not anymore.

Zahra laid himself down and pressed his face into the bed, wanting more than anything to hide from what he was, what Sethe had told him he was and what he _knew_ he was, regardless of how suddenly he had come to learn it. His fingers reached up to his neck and he closed them around the stone that hung from the necklace there, understanding the spell even though he hadn't been able to read what Sethe had written. He knew the spell, not _knowing_ in the way that he might have memorized it or written it himself, but he saw what it meant and how it had worked, and the way that he had chosen the stone, and he knew. It was obvious, even to someone like him. Or perhaps it wasn't obvious, and he just knew, and that was even more proof that he was this thing, however much he wished that he wasn't. He was strange enough as it was, and although he felt deep down that this was an explanation, and not another oddity to throw on the ever-growing pile, he still did not want it. Agreeing with Sethe would be like admitting defeat, giving up and saying 'fine, there really is something wrong with me, and there isn't anything that I can do to stop it'.

_But there isn't. If there were, Sethe would have found it. He certainly doesn't seem like the sort of person who would sit back and admit defeat, especially since he has to pretty much hide away in the temple just so he won't be bothered by people who hate him for it. But he was that way since before he was born. And he said that it was the same for all the gods, that they all choose their Shemsu before birth…so then…why is it such an awful thing?_

Zahra paused in his tears and considered that last thought_. It was the same for everyone. Isis must know that she was chosen by Amun-Ra before she was born, so why would she hold the same thing against Sethe? Why would anyone? _Thoroughly mystified, Zahra decided to ask Sethe about it later, figuring that he must be missing some vital information. It didn't make any sense, and Zahra blamed that on his innocence in such matters. _No one could be that blind._

His mind was working too quickly to cry, and he gave it up and flipped himself over, lying on his back and facing the ceiling. _For being the Kher Heb of the Pharaoh, Sethe sure doesn't own very much. He's got to have money…tons of it, probably. But then again, he doesn't strike me as the type to go out and spend it. He seems more like the type to stash it all away in a dark room somewhere and then forget about even having it. If I had money like he must have…I wouldn't. _Zahra smiled to himself and rubbed at his eyes, wiping away the tears in favor of richly designed daydreams, the sort he'd always had, and never really was able to give up no matter how much reality beat down on them each day.

_With a room this big…I'd have a bed much larger than this one…made of wood from across the sea, and a…_ Zahra raised his head and examined the bare walls. _…A vanity right over there, in that corner…where that mirror is. Or at least, I think it's a mirror. He's let the metal get so dull he probably can't even see himself in it anymore. _Zahra rolled himself off the bed and walked over to the mirror, trying to see his reflection and succeeding just barely. _Maybe Sethe feels the same way I do…about looking so different. He looks much more normal than I do…his skin is even dark. It's just his eyes and his hair, and that's hardly even noticeable. But me…ugh. _Zahra blinked miserably at his reflection and leaned in closer, seeing the makeup on his eyes. _That doesn't look so bad, though…I wonder if it's just for use in the temple. Well…not like I'll be going much of anywhere else. If it didn't make me act so weird, I might just wear it for how it looks…I wonder if Sethe has any that won't make me crazy…_

Zahra looked around the room, finding that even if Sethe did, there wasn't anyplace in the room that he could have kept it. _Probably not. He doesn't seem too interested in appearances. He's not even wearing jewelry that doesn't serve a purpose. All he's got on are those gold bands on his arms and legs, and those are just to show that he lives in the palace. Too plain…I'd have collected a whole chest full of jewelry by now, if I were him. And I'd probably wear it all, too, every day…_

A stray tear slipped out from his eyelid, and he brushed it away and then looked at himself again in the mirror. _Now that's something…the makeup didn't come off when I was crying. It's all there…oh, I hope that it comes off eventually. Maybe there's something you have to use to get it out of your skin._ He reached up and tentatively tried to smear the edges of one of his eyes, knowing that if it actually worked, he could still fix it. Nothing moved, and the lines stayed as they were around his eyes, and he frowned for a moment. That was weird.

"What are you doing?" Sethe's voice startled Zahra and he jumped and turned towards the noise. Sethe was standing in the doorway with a bemused look, and Zahra scanned him up and down before he spoke.

"Nothing…where's your other clothes?" Sethe was dressed plainly in nothing more than a dark blue galabia that had seen better days. _Like that, for example. I sure wouldn't be sleeping in that. _

"I don't _sleep_ in them. Anyway, I'm finished with the temple for the day, and I don't need to wear them anymore." He made a face as he walked over to the bed, giving Zahra the impression that he didn't like wearing them very much. Sethe sat down on the edge of the bed and for the first time Zahra noticed what Sethe had brought along with him. His stomach immediately responded to the sight of food, and he abandoned the mirror and sat down next to Sethe and proceeded to inhale the food as fast as he was able to.

"Where'd you get this?" Zahra asked him in-between mouthfuls.

Sethe gave him an indifferent look and responded. "From the shrine." Zahra froze in mid-bite. "You're _supposed_ to eat it…It's all I eat." Zahra looked at Sethe, wondering if he was joking, but the level stare that Sethe returned told him that he wasn't. "Just eat it…"

Zahra shrugged and continued, he really was hungry, and if Sethe said it was alright, then it must be. It sure seemed odd, though. There was something in Sethe's hand and Zahra caught it out of the corner of his eye, a white cloth, but he didn't say anything about until he'd finished eating.

"You ate that like it was going to disappear on you." Sethe smirked at Zahra, who only glared back halfheartedly before pointing to Sethe's hands.

"What's that for?"

Sethe followed Zahra's finger until he realized what he meant. "Oh…I still haven't cleaned your eyes off. Here…" Sethe pulled on Zahra's arm until he scooted over closer on the side of the bed, and then hooked his finger underneath Zahra's chin and lifted his face up. "It won't come off without this." He lifted the cloth to Zahra's eyes and as soon as it hit his skin Zahra could feel that it was dampened with something.

"Sethe…?"

Zahra watched Sethe's eyes as he worked, but Sethe didn't make contact. "What?"

"Why can I see those things?"

Sethe switched hands and then moved to Zahra's other eye. Zahra's vision began to blur slightly, but he ignored it and waited for Sethe to continue. "Wait…" He finished moments late and then sat back. Zahra blinked, then rubbed his eyes and looked at Sethe again. His eyes weren't working, or so he felt, and he scanned the room, trying to find out what was wrong. Everything looked so…flat, and empty. Zahra looked back at Sethe and saw only Sethe, with none of his inner thoughts or reasons or feelings showing. It was like looking at a reflection, one that was obviously transparent.

"Is it gone?" Sethe's eyes were fixated on Zahra's, and he waited until Zahra' gaze connected with his before speaking again. Zahra felt nearly lost, and strangely blind, and he stared at Sethe, trying to see all the things that he knew were there and finding nothing but Sethe and Sethe alone, as anyone else would have seen him, as though they hadn't ever met. "It's the Eye of Heru…it's meant to be worn only for reasons of reverence…but it awakens something in us. It's because of what Suti did, in the old kingdom. Do you know?"

"I don't remember."

Sethe pulled his legs up underneath him and sat cross-legged on the bed, looking very much like the young man that he was, and less like the Kher Heb of the Pharaoh. He watched the floor and spoke from memory, reciting the story as though he had heard it a thousand times.

"Suti and Amun-Ra, they…they were family, and they were very close. Suti protected Amun-Ra, and Amun-Ra did the same for him, and together they protected the people of Egypt. But then, Suti found something that he loved and wished to keep above all else. Something more important than Egypt itself."

Zahra hadn't ever heard _this_ version before. It wasn't that he remembered the way he'd heard the story, but he knew for a fact that he hadn't ever heard it told this way. "What was it?"

Sethe shook his head. "No one knows. Only the gods know that. But Amun-Ra just didn't understand. He felt that nothing was more important than Egypt, and that Suti was turning his back on the people they had protected together for so long, and betraying him at the same time. So he sent his son Heru to find out what it was that Suti loved so much, because Heru had a special sight and could see inside people's hearts.

Heru's two eyes were not the same...one was an eye of Moon, and the other was an eye of Sun. The eye of Moon was the eye that could see deeper than skin, and it gave him an advantage, to be able to look inside Suti without having to ask him what it was. Heru went to look at Suti and saw what it was inside of his heart without Suti knowing, and reported to the council of the gods what he had seen. Whatever it was…it was something that the gods did not approve of."

Zahra watched Sethe carefully as he spoke, anxious to hear the tale out to its end. Why hadn't he heard anything like it before? Zahra felt absolutely certain that the story he had heard about Suti was nothing like this. His impression of Suti hadn't been a positive one, and he had thought that Suti had been the one who was causing all the trouble. This story didn't very well fit in with all of the things that Suti represented now. Sethe had paused and met Zahra's eyes, and Zahra was impatient to have him finish.

"Keep going!"

"Well…Amun-Ra led the council of the gods, and when he learned of what it was that Suti had abandoned him for…he was outraged. He told his son that if he went and destroyed the thing that Suti loved, he could then take Suti's place next to Amun-Ra. Heru wanted that, of course, so he immediately went to find the thing and destroy it, but Suti found him before he had done it and he fought back, determined to protect that thing above all else. Heru told Suti of what had happened, of how he had stolen that glimpse of Suti's beloved with his eye of Moon, and he also told him of how he was to take Suti's place, as soon as his task was finished. When Suti learned of how he had been betrayed by Heru, he reached out and tore the eye of Moon from Heru's face, furious that he would use a gift like that for something so malicious.

Heru ran back to the council and told them that Suti had attacked him, and Amun-Ra summoned Suti to the divine court. He was declared guilty of defying the will of Amun-Ra and banished from Egypt along with his followers, and was forced to live in the Red Lands of the south. Heru took his place and his eye was restored, but it was replaced instead with another eye of Sun, because the eye of Moon now belonged to Suti and was declared a curse, instead of the gift that it once was. So now…all Shemsu –Suti possess that stolen curse. That is why you can see those things when you wear the Eye of Heru. Because it was his, at one time."

Zahra was silent for a long time, thinking about the story. "What…what do you think it was that Suti loved so much?"

Sethe frowned at the bed beneath him, looking frustrated. "I can't figure it out…that's the only part of the story I have left to uncover. But I feel like…like if I find the true answer, if I can find out what it was that he loved…I might be able to understand why it's so awful to be what I am. Because I still don't. I've been searching for what seems like forever…did you see all those old scrolls I had in the library?"

Zahra nodded. "I was wondering where you'd gotten those. I've never even seen one before. How old are they?"

"They're from the old kingdom." Zahra's eyes widened slightly, how had Sethe gotten a hold of something that ancient? "I've been collecting them ever since I took over this temple, years ago. That story I just told you is not the same story that anyone will tell you. No one living today knows that story, apart from you and me. It's the way that things truly happened between Suti and Amun-Ra…before it was changed at the start of the middle kingdom. And now even that has come to an end…but every time the story was recorded it was changed, over and over again, until it had become what it is today, which is nothing more than a lie. But things have a way of changing…especially when those in power want them to."

Zahra's eyes were tired and he felt them begging to be closed, but the things that Sethe was telling him were so complicated that he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until he'd sorted out at least some of it in his mind. "But…but why would they change it? Who changed it?"

"It's strange…it was changed around the same time that Egypt became one, instead of the two separate lands that it used to be. The followers of Amun-Ra were the ones that unified the two, and their god became the One God that all of Egypt recognized as protector. That is why the Pharaoh is known as Heru incarnate, and his temple is always dedicated to Amun-Ra. Just like in the story, Heru took Suti's place and guarded the people of Egypt alongside Amun-Ra."

"Oh…" Zahra didn't follow that part as much as he had the actual story, but he was left with a strong feeling of discontent with Amun-Ra and his followers. _No wonder being in his shrine made me sick…but I was inside of it for awhile before I passed out._ "Hey…but I was in the shrine earlier this morning, and I felt fine. It wasn't until you started using that incense that I started to feel dizzy."

Sethe uncrossed his legs and laid his head back on the bed. "Amun-Ra wasn't there…he isn't there now. You could walk all over in there and feel fine if you went in and tried it. It's when the sun comes up and I break the seal, then he's present in the shrine and his presence alone affects you…affects me, still. But you should be alright tomorrow, as long as you don't take off that necklace. That will shield you from most of it…but you'll still feel uncomfortable. Hopefully you won't pass out again." Sethe smirked and closed his eyes for a moment. "I'm so tired…" He opened one eye and peered at Zahra through it. "I bet you're exhausted."

He was, but he was almost more comfortable staying awake on Sethe's bed as opposed to sleeping on the floor. He glanced over at 'his' corner and sighed quietly. "I am…I should probably get to sleep. We have to get up so early every day." Zahra stood up from the edge of the bed and took a step forward towards the wall, but something was caught on his sleeve and he paused, looking back and seeing that it was Sethe's hand that was holding him back. He had an odd look on his face that was empty of any sort of emotion, but he spoke and Zahra could hear something there, not quite able to tell what it was. He almost wished that he was wearing the Eye again, just so that he would be able to tell what Sethe was really thinking right then. Everything looked so empty now.

"Look…I'm sorry that I had you sleep there last night. I was…I was just still really mad at you for getting me in trouble. I had no way to know who you were, or what you were. I thought that you hated me."

Zahra smiled. "I did."

"Do you still?"

Zahra held his tongue for a second and thought about it, wondering what the true answer was. "Maybe…maybe I didn't hate you. I didn't like you…but I don't know what to think anymore. I know that you're doing your best to help me, and I…I don't…" Zahra bit his lip and tried to think of words that would explain how he felt. "Everything's so…so different, and I don't even feel like myself anymore. I think you're right, that I am like you…but that isn't something that I understand. Oh…I wish I knew what I was talking about…" He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. Sethe let go of his sleeve and moved over to the other side of the bed.

"I'm not going to make you sleep on the floor…but I haven't got anywhere else to put you right now. I didn't ever plan on allowing anyone else to stay here, so I didn't bother to keep the other rooms set for someone to stay in. You can…you can sleep here, if you want to…" Sethe kept his eyes down and then turned over, leaving the choice up to Zahra, and Zahra knew that he wouldn't have anything more to say on the subject.

…_Now what? I suppose that means he doesn't think I'm going to kill him in his sleep. That floor…is so uncomfortable…but I can't very well sleep here. Can I? Sethe said that it was alright…I hope that he meant it, because I am not sleeping in that corner again. _Zahra tentatively sat down on the edge of the bed, watching Sethe for any reaction. He didn't even move an inch, and Zahra lay down on his side and watched quietly as Sethe's chest rose and fell. He wasn't asleep, and neither was Zahra, and the two of them were quite aware of that fact.

_This is really uncomfortable…but it's better than the floor. And anyway, if I can't trust him, then there isn't anyone else left. I've only known him for two days, but it's…I've never known anyone like me before. And now that I know even more about myself, I'm even stranger than I thought I was. But it doesn't matter…because he's the exact same way. It almost feels like I have Makiah back…in a weird way. It's not the same…no one could ever be Makiah…it's not better, just…different. _

Zahra felt as though he was slighting his friend with his thoughts, and he tried to work them out in his mind so that he understood how he felt. He missed Makiah so much…but Makiah was not coming back. Zahra never wanted to let that go…and he didn't feel as though he had to, not yet. Sethe was different, much different, and the way that Zahra felt about Sethe wasn't anything like what he felt for Makiah, but yet he knew that it was similar.

Deeper, even.

Sethe was like Makiah, in the way that he suffered along with Zahra, trapped inside a similar fate, just as Makiah had suffered in servitude with Zahra up until a few days ago. Zahra felt, though, that while Sethe was just like Makiah in that respect, he was also everything that Makiah would never have been, had he been alive to see what had become of Zahra. For while Makiah accepted Zahra for the way that he looked and without a doubt would have accepted him for what he was, had Makiah known, he could only ever turn a blind eye in sympathy and try to relate to Zahra in some other way. Makiah was normal; he was what Zahra had always wanted to be, and what he knew he wouldn't ever be. But Sethe…Sethe was those strange things, just like Zahra was, and Sethe couldn't look past it, nor would he want to. He _understood_. He saw Zahra for what he was and didn't have to search any deeper for something that the two could share. They already shared everything.

* * *

What a mess. I have taken a few liberties here with the myths, so please don't think that the story of Amun-Ra and Suti goes like that. But it isn't so far away from the truth, and you have to wonder sometimes how the politics of a nation can affect the common belief system. There was a distict moment when Suti suddenly became a god of evil along a historical timeline, and the reasons behind it seem to point to mostly political influences. It's worth researching, if you are interested in religiousopression such as I am. I don't know why...I suppose that I am interested in sad things. But hey...what did you expect from the Prince of Anime Angst? And by the way...do you like this fic? Why do I get the impression that this has nothing to do with Yu-Gi-Oh? 


	5. Memphis

Asylum

By Katsuya Kaiba

AN: This story is long.

* * *

_Zahra knew he was late, and he hoped that Makiah was still up. He'd promised to meet him tonight as soon as he was absolutely sure that no one was still awake, but that had taken much longer than it usually did, due to the party that had taken place in his home that evening. Hopefully, Makiah had heard the noise and would already be aware of the situation…but Zahra was almost there now. He hoisted himself over the wall and landed soundlessly on his feet, crouching in the darkest part of the shadows for a moment and waiting for Makiah to come out from wherever he was hiding. Nothing moved for the longest time, and Zahra grew worried, wondering if perhaps he'd been caught in the alley. But no one ever came around here, not in the night, which was why it was such a convenient place for the two of them to meet._

"…_Makiah?" Zahra's whisper was barely even audible to himself, and he knew that if Makiah were out here somewhere, he wouldn't have heard it. Zahra took a chance and stood up from the dark edge of the wall and surveyed the alley, finding nothing in the shadows, save himself. _Weird, _he thought. _Makiah's never the one who's late. It's always me…I wonder if he fell asleep.

_There was a strange and sudden noise that came from behind the wall that encircled Makiah's home, and Zahra smiled and walked over to the wall, jumping up as high as he could and catching his hands on the edge. "Makiah…" Zahra spoke a little louder this time, sure that it was his friend who was behind the wall. He lifted himself by his arms, but his grip was a little shaky and his fingernails scratched against the stone in an effort to keep himself up. He managed to lift his chin over the barrier and he looked over it, searching for Makiah and finding him, but not in the way that he had expected. _

_The odd noise he had heard had been the sound of Makiah's body being drug through the sand by the man who owned him, and as Zahra watched a thought struck him slowly, and his mind desperately tried to catch up and make sense of the realization. The man had Makiah by his feet and was dragging him across the yard, and Zahra watched the way that Makiah's limbs moved in the sand and knew. Nothing that had even a spark of life left in it moved in that manner. Makiah was dead. And Zahra knew exactly who had killed him. _

_When the man looked up, Zahra realized too late that he had called out Makiah's name, and he let his already shaky grip on the edge of the wall slip and he fell to the dirt, not even feeling the pain in his back as he landed on it hard. He couldn't feel much, not in that moment, and he knew that he had been seen. Knew that the man knew who he was, and knew that he had seen what he was doing. And he knew that Makiah was dead._

_Zahra ran. He ran back inside his house, not caring who saw him as he went, and he hid for the rest of the night, until someone came for him in the morning. And when they came, they brought the news that Zahra was to be sold, and Zahra acted surprised, but he wasn't. And he knew that he was dead as well, if he didn't run as soon as he had the chance. _

* * *

The morning in the shrine went infinitely better then the first, and Zahra was almost relieved to have the Eye back over his own, feeling strangely lost without it. He was tired, having slept restlessly all night with dreams of Makiah, but he concentrated on what Sethe was trying to teach him and he felt that he was learning it all rather quickly. Zahra made it through the entire ritual without even stopping once, and although he did feel a small discomfort when the sun finally rose, he found that it was nothing at all compared to what he had felt the day before. The spell he had worked on the necklace appeared to be done correctly, and he still couldn't believe that he had cast a spell, any spell at all, and one that worked, well…he felt a small amount of pride in that. Zahra managed to annoy Sethe by asking him an endless amount of questions about everything in the shrine, but Sethe answered them all, understanding that Zahra was unfamiliar with nearly every piece of temple knowledge that he had assumed that it was all commonly known. Zahra assured him that it wasn't. 

"So then, now what do we do?" Zahra followed Sethe out of the shrine and breathed a small sigh of relief as the remaining discomfort passed on.

"Well, what I normally do is go into the library and study…or write out more of the temple proceedings. Every time I come up with a new spell, I have to write it down in the temple records. Also, any seasonal rituals that I perform have to be recorded as well. But today…you're going to start learning how to write."

Zahra smiled and picked up his pace a bit, feeling excited at the prospect. It would be a lot of hard work, but he wanted this so badly, and it would be something that he could do for Makiah as well as himself. They entered the library and Zahra immediately sat down at the table and waited for Sethe, who was pulling books and materials off of the bookshelves. He brought back the books at first and stacked them on the opposite end of the table, then returned to the shelves and pulled off a wooden box, placing it in front of Zahra along with a stack of paper.

"Open that box…that's got everything you need to write with." Zahra lifted the lid and pulled out a reed and a bottle filled with black powder.

"How am I going to write with this? Doesn't it have to be wet or something?" Sethe had already cracked open his first book, and he glanced up at Zahra and pointed to the other bottle that was still sitting in the box.

"That one's already mixed…here." He put his book down and reached across the table, putting one sheet of paper in front of Zahra and taking the ink out of the box, opening it and dipping the tip of the reed inside. "See? Like that…"

"What should I write?" Zahra hoped that this was easier than it seemed.

"I think that you should just start to practice drawing the different symbols first…I'll show you what they mean later. It takes awhile to get really good at them, but by the time that you are, you'll have them all memorized. Then it's just the matter of teaching you what sounds they make. Oh…hang on." Sethe stood up suddenly and went back over to the bookshelves, searching on a shelf in the far corner. "I think I…here it is." He pulled a book out from the line and walked back across the room, opening it and handing it to Zahra. "Look…" Sethe leaned over and pointed out the list on the page he had opened the book up to. "This is my old workbook…you can copy from this. These here, in the line…practice drawing each one individually."

Zahra nodded and leaned in towards the book, focusing on the symbols. Sethe moved away and sat back down in his own seat, picking his book up and beginning to read once more, glancing up every now and then to see that Zahra was still concentrating. The first thing that Zahra noticed about writing was that it was infinitely harder than looked, and he frowned as he tried to draw what had been a very nice symbol that looked just like a owl. Or at least, it had looked that way in Sethe's perfect penmanship. Zahra wasn't entirely sure what his version resembled, but it wasn't an owl. It looked sort of like a…he couldn't say, honestly, and decided to try the next symbol, then decided to try the third, since the second symbol looked much harder than the owl did.

I don't think that I'll be able to do this…if I can't even draw an owl, there's no way that I can draw people. Not recognizably. Oh…there has to be something on this list that I can draw…wait, those look alright.

'Those' referred to the symbol of water and a few others that weren't much more than squares or abstract shapes, and didn't resemble anything living, which Zahra was grateful for. He'd learned within the last few minutes that he wasn't much of an artist. He drew the first symbol, which was a simple zigzag line, and silently cheered himself on, proud that he hadn't screwed that one up. He practiced it repeatedly and then moved on to the next symbol, which was a square and nothing more. He promised himself that he would try the other ones later, and in the meantime perfected his squares and zigzags relentlessly.

"I'm watching you…I hope you don't plan on practicing those two symbols for the rest of the day." Zahra glanced up, caught, and found Sethe watching him amusedly, eyes barely visibly above his book.

"No…" Zahra could feel his cheeks reddening, but he stumbled his way through it and spoke. "I just…I'm going to go back to those other ones…later." Sethe blinked and then redirected his attention to his book. "What are you reading about?"

Sethe's eyes rose again and caught Zahra's. "I'm trying to find out about you."

Zahra watched as Sethe looked back down again, and couldn't believe that he was going to just leave it at that. "What? What do you mean? Hey!" He waved his hand in front of Sethe's face, who set his book down on the table and sat back in his chair, waiting for another onslaught of questioning. "What are you trying to find out about?"

"Your sight, amongst other things. I'm looking for something that sounds similar…maybe if there was someone else who could do the same things that you can, someone might have written about them. And if I'm not mistaken, I vaguely remember reading about something long ago…I haven't thought about it in years, but I remembered it last night, just before I fell asleep. If I can find that book, I might be able to help you understand the things that you can do. As it is…I there isn't much I can do for you, besides try and guess at what it is that you can do."

Zahra wasn't sure what to say to that. Sethe was serious about this, and he really seemed to be interested in what Zahra was, exactly. It struck Zahra oddly, and he felt the need to ask.

"I don't mean to say something wrong…but…why do you want to help me so much? I appreciate it…I just…never mind." Sethe's face had gone blank and reserved, and Zahra realized that he was most likely overstepping some unforeseen boundary. "Sorry…I –"

"No…it's okay. I've always been…the only one who was this way. I've never met another person who was Shemsu-Suti…and now it seems like everything I've learned about it just isn't…" He leaned his arms against the tabletop and looked at Zahra carefully. "It's not that I was wrong, or that you aren't like me, it's just that you are so much more than I am. I want to know why you can see more than me, because I think that maybe if I find that out, I'll know more about myself."

_Sethe is different than he was when I first came to live here…it's only been a few days, but I can see it. He talks more…and he tells me everything. He used to just say what he wanted and then let me figure out the rest on my own. I wonder if it's just because I'm like him, or if it's something else. _

"What did you remember reading about?"

"There was this old story from the middle kingdom that I remember reading. I can't recall much of it because I wasn't looking for it at the time, so I skimmed through it. It was about someone who had abilities, and I remember that they were similar to mine, but I can't remember why or how."

"Oh…hey, look at my pictures." Zahra pushed the page across the table, and Seth picked it up by the edge and brought it up to his face, studying Zahra's attempts closely.

"They aren't pictures…and what it this supposed to be?" Sethe snickered and turned the page so that Zahra could see what he was pointing at. "It doesn't even look like anything."

"It's…_an owl…_stop it!" Sethe was still laughing, and Zahra scowled at him and reached out, ripping the page out of his hands and placing it back on the tabletop in front of him. "You're so mean!" Sethe quieted down and picked up his book again, but sent Zahra a look across the top of the pages.

"Perhaps there _is_ something you can't do."

Zahra picked up his reed and tried it again. He kept practicing each and every symbol, and Sethe kept on reading, and neither of them noticed the time passing until someone cleared their throat in the doorway. Sethe looked up before Zahra did and spoke, and when Zahra heard him he looked up, as well.

"Mahado…hello." Zahra studied the priest who stood in the doorway hesitantly and immediately liked him for a reason that he couldn't fathom. He didn't dare try and read anything on him, just as he hadn't tried to read the Pharaoh when he had been here last. It was something that Zahra didn't want anyone to do to him, so he felt that he shouldn't do it in return, unless he was asked to for some reason. But just by looking at his face and the way that he stood awkwardly as though he felt that he was interrupting something when they were just studying quietly, Zahra knew that he wasn't anything like Isis.

"Sethe…the Pharaoh sent me to speak with you concerning the Akhet and the Ceremony next week." Sethe blinked at Mahado for a moment and then dropped his book on the table in annoyance.

"Oh…I completely forgot about that." Sethe looked at Zahra for awhile and thought to himself before responding. "The Ceremony is on the eight day of the next week, and then…oh…right." He motioned for Mahado to enter the room and then turned to face Zahra. "Zahra…I can't believe that I forgot to tell you this, but I have to leave for a few days next week."

Zahra instantly felt panic within, and he frowned and set his reed down on the table, keeping himself composed in the presence of someone he didn't know. "Why?"

"Next week is the Akhet…and I have to accompany the Pharaoh on his journey to the Nile. I can't take you with me, either…but you'd hate it, anyway. I do…" Zahra's mind was turning as soon as he heard what Sethe had said, and a momentary flash of joy burst in his mind.

"Hey! My birthday is next week! It's the day before the Akhet, every year."

No one said anything to him for a long and silent moment, and Sethe gave him a blank and empty expression before he spoke. "Oh?" He couldn't fool Zahra, however, and Zahra frowned at the change in Sethe.

"What's wrong?" Zahra looked over at Mahado, who wasn't looking at anyone or anything, and he didn't seem to know what Sethe was acting strangely about. Zahra turned back to Sethe, who had cast his eyes down to the table.

"We'll talk about it later. But right now, we have to figure out what we're going to do with you while we're all gone. You can't very well stay here alone, since you haven't been initiated. I absolutely have to go on this trip…ugh, and I don't want Isis in my temple any more than she has to be."

Mahado looked up finally and caught Sethe's eye. "I don't mind staying. I've served here before, and I remember what to do."

Sethe looked over at Zahra and searched his face, looking for something before he agreed. Zahra smiled and nodded, and Sethe turned his head back to Mahado. "I think that would be fine…will the Pharaoh agree to it? He's likely to agree to anything you ask of him." Sethe gave Mahado an awful smirk, but Mahado returned it amiably.

"Maybe…" Mahado was shy; Zahra could see it and he smiled inside. He didn't want Sethe to leave, not at all, but if it was Mahado who would be here instead, Zahra was alright with it.

"You won't be gone long, will you?"

Sethe shook his head. "Only for two days. Just practice your owls while I'm gone. That ought to keep you busy." Zahra frowned and picked up his reed, finished with the conversation. Mahado stood up and nodded at Sethe, leaving without another word.

"Mahado. Wait a moment." Sethe called out to him just as he was walking into the hallway and he paused and turned to face the room. "Will you tell the Pharaoh something for me? Isis hasn't let me get past her for days…" Mahado nodded, and Sethe continued. "Ask him if there's any way that I can keep Zahra out of the Ceremony. I don't want him in there." Mahado waved wordlessly and left the room, nodding at Zahra as he left, who waved back at him cheerfully.

"I like him." Zahra spoke absentmindedly as he drew on his paper. Sethe looked at him for a long moment before speaking, and his voice was filled with curiosity.

"Why?"

Zahra looked up and met Sethe's eyes, shrugging his shoulders and looking out the doorway that Mahado had just walked out. "I don't know…he felt nice."

Sethe nodded. "He is nice…he's awfully quiet, though."

Zahra set his reed down and placed his hands on the table, looking at Sethe squarely. Sethe watched Zahra and waited for whatever was coming. "Why did you look at me like that when I told you when my birthday was?"

Sethe stared at Zahra almost harshly, but it went straight through him, and Zahra knew that Sethe was only trying to come up with the correct way to say what he meant. "Your birthday…is the same day as the Ceremony. The third epigomenal day. And speaking of the Ceremony…you won't be participating. You've only just gotten here, and considering what you are and the amount of time you've had to adjust to that, I know for a fact that you're not ready. I can hardly stand them…it's only because of that spell that I can ever participate myself."

Zahra checked Sethe's neck when he heard the mention of the spell, but saw nothing around it. "Hey, if you did that spell, then where's your necklace?" Sethe reached under the fabric on his neck and pulled out a string of beads just enough so that Zahra could see the blue in them and then let it fall back under his clothes. "Huh…that seems like something that you would do."

Sethe looked at Zahra confusedly. "What does?"

"Hiding your jewelry…" Zahra trailed off and smiled, remembering his thoughts from the previous night. "I bet that you've got all kinds of nice jewelry stashed away somewhere, but you never wear it."

Sethe tilted his head to the side and frowned, more lost than ever. "What brought that on?"

Zahra shrugged. "I was just thinking about it last night. Anyone else in your position would have all sorts of nice things, but you…" Zahra smiled, "…your room is bare, and so are you. I saw a priest one time, he was visiting from another city and he wore the most beautiful things…and he was just a city priest. You're the Kher Heb of the Pharaoh."

"So…? What does it matter? I never go anywhere, except on this awful journey once a year. Why should I waste my time playing dress up? I have much more important things to do." He picked his book back up but he didn't look away from Zahra, waiting for him to respond.

"Oh… well, I guess that's true. I suppose it's just me, then…" Zahra felt as though Sethe might have been irritated by what he'd said, and he tried to explain himself better. "I didn't mean that you should…I was just thinking about myself…when I was younger, I used to pretend that someday I was going to buy all kinds of things like that. Maybe I'm just that way…but if I were you, I'd have spent everything I had by now." Zahra smiled at Sethe who just snorted and went back to reading his book.

* * *

Zahra sat alone in the library, halfheartedly practicing his writing, when he felt something strange descend over him, and he sat up and looked at the doorway, not knowing why he did so. Something felt wrong, and it was getting nearer. He stood up from his seat and closed his eyes, and the feeling became stronger, a sensation of anger that washed over him forcefully, and suddenly Sethe walked into the room and paused just inside the doorway.

"What are you doing?" His voice was filled with irritation, and Zahra's eyes widened and he sat down, not sure of what to say.

"I…I felt like something was wrong." Sethe gave him an exasperated look and walked over to the seat next to Zahra's, sitting down angrily.

"Well…that's true. The Pharaoh is insisting that you participate in the Ceremony tomorrow, and he won't even say why." Sethe was angry, and if Zahra had felt it from down the hall, it was nothing compared to how it felt to sit beside Sethe now.

"Is it that bad? What _is _this ceremony that you keep talking about, and why don't you want me there?"

Sethe sat back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest, staring off into the distance crossly. "It's the Ceremony of Justification…and it's not pleasant, not for us, anyway. I guarantee that it will make you sick, regardless of whether or not you wear that necklace. No…he _did_ say why, now that I think back. He said that you would have to learn about it at some point. He's not even thinking about how new all of this is to you…and if you can't handle it and something does happen to you, everyone will know what you are. All of the priests participate in this ceremony."

Zahra stared at the table, wanting to speak but not sure if he would be able to say anything that wouldn't make Sethe angrier than he already was. "Hey…it's alright, you know. I'll do it if I have to, and I'll be okay. Will you be there?" Sethe nodded, still looking away from Zahra at nothing. "Then I'm sure I'll be fine. Don't worry so much."

Sethe exhaled sharply and then brought his eyes to Zahra's, letting some of the anger fall from his gaze as he did so. "It's more than you can take…I'm almost sure of it. I tried to explain it to him, but he just doesn't understand. He _should_ understand…he knows, he knows what you are. Why is he doing this?"

"He must have some reason. Anyway, it doesn't matter now. I'll go with you to the ceremony, and maybe later he'll explain it to you. I'm sure that he does understand, Sethe. Something more important must be happening." Zahra held his gaze coolly and then tried to change the subject. "Did you find that story you were looking for yet?"

The priest shook his head and reached out for one of the books that were piled on the table, every day growing in height and numbers. Sethe was reading constantly, trying to find something that would help Zahra to better understand what he was, but it was hard since no one, not even Sethe, fully understood that. "No…but I think I'm close. I've narrowed it down to one of these…" Sethe pointed at the pile of books on the tabletop that weren't any less than twenty, "so I'm getting there. It's taking awhile, but I know that when I find it, it will be worth it. I _know_ it." He opened the book in his hands and prepared to read, but then he thought better of it and turned back to Zahra, who had begun to write once more. "How old will you be tomorrow?"

"Seventeen." Sethe stared thoughtfully for a moment, but then shook his head and looked back to his book. "Huh…I thought you were older…you don't act seventeen."

Zahra dipped the end of his reed in the ink. "I don't feel seventeen, either. After everything that's happened to me, I feel like I'm forty." Sethe smirked at his comment, and Zahra turned to look at him again. "How old are you?"

"At the end of this year, I'll be twenty-two." Zahra nodded, he'd guessed that the priest was at least a few years older then he was, especially since he _was_ a priest. It had to take a long time to train for such a position, and Sethe was very good at what he did.

"Sethe…I'm not very good at writing." Sethe glanced down at the sheet of paper in front of Zahra and cringed.

"No…you're not."

"So, I was thinking…maybe I could learn more about Heka instead." Zahra held his breath and waited for Sethe's initial reaction. Ever since Zahra had cast that spell, he'd been dying to see what else he was able to do, and since Sethe was a sorcerer, there wasn't anyone better to teach him. But he'd been afraid to ask, not sure of what Sethe would say. He'd assumed that Sethe wouldn't mind, but there really was no way to tell what Sethe was thinking all of the time. Especially since Zahra refused to look inside his mind ever since he had decided that it was bad manners, and if Sethe wanted Zahra to know a thing he always told him right away.

The silence was short, but it was long enough for Zahra to grow worried and turn his head to the side to look at Sethe's face. He hadn't looked away from his book, but Zahra watched his eyes and saw that they weren't reading the text on the page, and instead they looked lost in thought. "Do you really want to?"

"Yes. I liked it…I was scared at first, but now that I think about it, I think that I want to learn how to do it well, like you can."

Sethe looked over at Zahra and then looked down, thinking it through carefully. "If you really want to, then I suppose I can teach you. But honestly…I'm hesitant. I have no idea what you're capable of, and Heka isn't something to play with. I'm not saying that you will, I just…you could really hurt yourself, and _you_ might be able to do much worse than that…" He frowned at the table and then looked back down at his book, settling the matter in his mind. "We'll take it slow…when I get back from the Akhet I'll teach you some basic things, and if everything goes well, we'll continue."

Zahra smiled and then went back to his writing. "So, then, do I still have to learn how to read?"

"How can you write a spell if you can't read it?" Zahra's head fell, he'd been doing terribly at his writing, and Sethe's efforts to help him had all been in vain. It was as though the very act of writing was against Zahra and was making things impossibly difficult, but he dipped the reed in the ink and kept going, determined not to quit. He'd given up once before, but that was a long time ago, and he wasn't the same anymore.

* * *

Zahra stood impossibly close to Sethe, being unused to seeing so many people gathered in the temple at once. It was only Sethe, Zahra, and the other five priests, but the room that Sethe had selected wasn't as large as some of the other rooms in the temple, and while it wasn't cramped there wasn't a lot of room for distancing himself. Isis had given Zahra a huge smile when she first came in, and Zahra had smiled back at her, but his opinion of her had changed drastically since he'd read into her thoughts and found that she hated Sethe for no other reason that simply what he was and couldn't help but be. Mahado had come early to help Sethe get the room ready, and the smile that Zahra had given him had been far more genuine, and Mahado had given him a small smile in return. The other three priests Zahra had never met before and they paid him little attention, which was fine with Zahra since he was glued to Sethe's side, anyhow, and didn't much feel like socializing. He was scared, mostly because of Sethe's apprehension over Zahra's participation today, but he had promised Sethe that he would do his best and he was determined to follow through. Whatever it was, it couldn't be that hard.

Anyway, today was Zahra's birthday, and nothing could pull his mood down from its elevated height. He had been even more cheerful than usual, despite what he knew would happen later on in the afternoon, and now that it was here he still didn't want it to ruin his day, and he smiled at everyone in the room as he followed Sethe from one end to the other, making sure that everything was ready for the ceremony. Isis had been the one chosen to read the ritual aloud, and everyone else had small roles that even Zahra could accomplish easily, but Zahra himself had been given no task, and instead was instructed by Sethe to stay as close to him as he could for the entire ritual. When everyone appeared to be ready Sethe paused and leaned down close to Zahra and whispered in his ear.

"You're wearing your necklace?" Zahra nodded his head and touched it through his clothes, since Sethe had advised him to wear it so that no one could see it. "Good…just stay close, then." Zahra nodded again and looked up at the front of the room as Isis cleared her throat. She seemed impatient, and tried to get everyone's attention so that the ritual could begin.

"Sethe…are we ready?" Isis called over to Sethe from across the room, and Sethe nodded at her, looking bored. Zahra had to muffle a laugh at the way Sethe looked at Isis, but she began the ritual moments later and he forgot about his laughter and watched as everyone came together around the table in the center of the room, Isis being the only one standing behind it and facing the group, a large book in her hands. Sethe moved forward as well, but he hung back a bit and he and Zahra stood slightly behind the other priests, watching the proceedings. Sethe leaned over to the side and whispered in Zahra's ear.

"We basically have to stand back and watch them perform it…I divided up the parts of the ritual between all of them, so all you need to do is be present. I know that you're sensitive to thoughts and feelings, but try not to hear any of theirs, at least not today."

"Then let's begin." Isis was loud, and her voice carried well across the room, so Zahra could hear everything she was saying quite clearly. She seemed to like being in control, and she gave the directions for the ritual in a commanding tone. The table that lay between Isis and the group wasn't visible to Zahra since he was far shorter than anyone else in the room, but he stood on his tiptoes and looked between shoulders, seeing nothing and instead focusing his eyes on Sethe's face. Sethe was staring coldly at Isis and looked as though he was steeling himself against something, and Zahra followed his line of sight and watched as Isis began the ritual.

"On this, the Third Epigomenal Day, the anniversary of the birth of Suti, the followers of Amun-Ra are justified in witnessing the downfall of Suti and his followers." Isis looked from her text and focused on Mahado's face. "Begin purifying the sacred space." Mahado immediately moved at her command and Zahra watched as he worked with something on the table, not being able to see far enough over his shoulder but knowing that he must be lighting the incense. The second that Isis had begun to speak Zahra had felt his stomach drop harshly, and a number of different thoughts hit him all at once, but the strongest one beat them out and held fast, and Zahra glanced up at Sethe, who was watching the proceedings.

_The anniversary of the birth of Suti…it can't be…Sethe would have said something, wouldn't he? He knew that today was my birthday…I bet that's why he acted so strangely when he found out…he knew it all along. _Zahra frowned, wondering why Sethe would have kept it from him, but Isis continued with the ritual and Zahra listened to her as she read the text from the book, wondering just what it was that everyone had come here to do. Zahra saw smoke rising from behind the line of priests in front of him, and it wasn't a scent that he remembered ever using with Sethe, but the color of this smoke was different, at least in his eyes. He knew that to the rest of the priests and perhaps even Sethe, the smoke would assume it's usual charcoal shade, but Zahra could see the tone behind the gray, and this one was the purest light gold, looking very nearly like lost and wandering sunlight. It was beautiful, and Zahra smiled as he watched it climb into the highest reaches of the room and then drift slowly out to the far corners, and while it moved Isis spoke once again.

"Pour the oil and anoint the followers of Amun-Ra." Another priest, one that Zahra didn't know, moved to the middle of the table and as he did the other priests stepped back and formed a line, and Zahra felt a sudden push on his back and turned around.

"Go." Sethe pointed to the end of the line and stared at Zahra, waiting for him to move. Zahra took a step and then noticed that Sethe wasn't following him, and he looked back questioningly. Sethe only shook his head and motioned for him to go foreword, and Zahra turned his head and looked in front of him, seeing that he was next, and the last person left. Mahado stepped to the side after a moment and then Zahra looked up at the man who had been given the task of anointing, and then had to bite his tongue in order to keep his face steady. This priest was older, far older than anyone else in the palace, but what had caught Zahra off-guard was the fact that he only had one real eye, and the other had been replaced by one made entirely of gold. Zahra hadn't been expecting that, and he looked down as the priest quickly brushed Zahra's forehead with the oil on the table and then hurriedly walked back to where Sethe was waiting, only a few feet behind where the other priests had once again gathered around the table closely. They blocked Zahra's view once more, but he focused instead on Isis's face, who still stood on the other side of the table and faced the group.

"The seal of Amun-Ra is broken, and the protector of Egypt is among us.

Brightly he shines, the Golden One,

Hail, Amun-Ra, ruler of the Sun.

Justified is Heru against Suti and his followers.

Justified is Amun-Ra against Suti and his followers.

His crime has been put before Amun-Ra and the council.

The damage he has caused has been reported to the gods.

They make public the grief he has caused.

They report the injury he has committed.

They deliver him to the Devourer."

Zahra, while listening to the litany, felt something akin to a shadow cross his face and his heart, and he began to feel as though the room was becoming far too small to hold all these people. It hadn't bothered him until Isis had begun with the reading, but as he listened to the words a sudden bout of panic crossed his mind, and he looked up at Sethe's face, which was calm and collected, and Zahra breathed out, knowing that if Sethe looked fine, then this was most likely supposed to happen. Zahra had been expecting to feel the same way he did in the shrine, but this felt nothing like that. This was a different sort of hurt…almost emotional. In the main shrine he hadn't felt much more than a stifling need to get as far away from the room a possible, but he felt much differently about this. It wasn't unbearable, though, and he redirected his attention on Isis, hoping that it wouldn't get any worse. She had paused in her reading to turn the page, but now she began to recite again.

"Suti's misdeeds in Egypt are those:

He has committed sacrilege against the space of Ius-aAs.

He has trespassed into the land of the Goddess of the West.

He has organized a slaughter of the people of Busiris.

And now, against the will of Amun-Ra he has become evil and stepped outside the prescribed path,

By turning his back on the Black Land."

Zahra, becoming more and more lost with every line Isis recited, glanced up at Sethe to see if he was listening. He was, but he was only staring coolly, and Zahra wondered what it was that Isis was talking about. That didn't sound anything like the story that Sethe had told to Zahra, but Sethe had also said that the tale had changed.

_Changed…more like rewritten. None of that is even similar. I wonder if any of it is true…_

Zahra's thoughts began to grow heavy, and he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, feeling suddenly sad without knowing why. Nothing was wrong, and he knew that for a fact, and tried to push the feeling back down again.

"The King of Thieves, the ruler of deceit, the leader of criminals,

The One who conceived the Lord of Red, the creature of destruction and chaos,

Who destroyed the sacred city of Memphis,

He is banished to the Red Lands."

_What…? Memphis?_ Zahra looked up at Sethe quickly, remembering what he'd seen on his skin days ago. _Did Suti…? No…_ Zahra nudged Sethe in his side, but he only shook his head and kept his eyes on Isis, and Zahra left him alone. _It couldn't be._

"You shall not be. Your name shall not be. Your power shall not be.

You shall not approach Egypt. You shall die in the circle of foreign lands." Isis looked up from the book and spoke to another one of the priests. "Bring the sinew of the red cow and the clay of Suti forward."

Zahra instantly had an awful feeling about what the priests were doing next, and he felt Sethe move slightly closer, stepping over with one foot so that their sides were touching barely, and Zahra knew that this was the part that Sethe had been worried about. Zahra lifted himself up on his toes and tried to see between the priests, but they were collectively working on something and after a moment he fell back flat on his feet in surprise. He felt bound somehow, as though something was tightening in his chest, and the pressure increased by the second and became painful very quickly, but it never subsided. Instead it leveled off and remained, and Zahra cringed through it, feeling both physical pain and an emotional ache that was steadily rising within, over absolutely nothing.

"Bind Suti to the Red Lands." Isis's voice echoed in Zahra's mind, and it seemed to be louder than it was before. Zahra wished that he could see what was happening because whatever the priests were doing was affecting him deeply, and he shut his eyes briefly and breathed through the pain, not sure where it hurt inside of him but feeling it anyway. He kept his mouth closed, afraid that he might make a noise if he wasn't careful.

"Come Amun-Ra, and behold.

Heru has felled your enemy for you.

Suti and his following are ruined.

This is for Amun-Ra and his Ka."

A tearing pain slashed through Zahra's mind and he sucked in his breath between his teeth, grinding them together and clamping down on his voice, hoping that he hadn't made too much noise. Mahado glanced back briefly and met Zahra's eyes, but Zahra looked away and Mahado did the same after a moment. He looked up at Sethe, who was watching him warily, and then he let his eyes wander back to Isis, focusing on her as the harshness of the pain subsided slowly, leaving behind a gaping wound that felt as though it were directly in the center of his heart, and more than anything he wanted to cry, for everything and nothing.

"This is for the Pharaoh and his Ka. The enemy has fallen."

Zahra gasped and impulsively reached out and grabbed at Sethe, catching his hand in the fabric of his clothes and gripping them tightly to hold himself up through the wave of dizziness and torment that fell in his mind. Sethe immediately caught Zahra and lifted him up silently by his arms, and Zahra pressed his face into the priest's side and held on to him as best he could, but Sethe had been right, he couldn't do this… He couldn't even think straight, and he hoped that he hadn't attracted too much attention. Zahra didn't remember crying out, but even if he had, he might not have noticed. He listened as the ritual continued behind him and sighed soundlessly, feeling relief in the back of his mind that they hadn't noticed him.

"This is for Heru and his Eye. May Heru rise and Suti fall."

_No…I can't do this…_ Zahra's face, he realized, was wet with tears, and he wasn't sure how long he'd been crying for but he didn't care, it hurt so much and he felt so lost and empty, but Sethe only held on to Zahra tighter and remained silent. Another surge of grief and pain set in, and Zahra pressed his face against Sethe's chest and froze, feeling the ends of his mind begin to break free of something, and he knew then that it was too late, and he couldn't help what was going to happen next. It rose from him unbidden and suddenly, but he could feel it as it went and didn't try to stop it, not knowing how and too afraid and hurt to care. He only wanted out, out of this room and away from this horrible ritual, and he could feel that Sethe felt the exact same way.

A loud crack sounded through the room and echoed off the walls, and Zahra could feel that he'd done something, but he didn't know what it was. Sethe jumped slightly but he didn't let go, and Zahra lifted his face and looked at Sethe and whispered. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" Sethe blinked and then let Zahra go, which was alright because the pain that he had felt had disappeared the instant that the noise had sounded. Zahra rubbed at his eyes watched as Sethe stepped forward, wiping away the tears, and as he looked at the priests he realized that they were all frozen in fear and staring down at the table.

"It's broken…" One of them spoke aloud, trailing off into silence. Isis, who had been stunned silent for a moment, regained control over her voice and frowned, speaking loudly.

"What happened…who broke it?" She looked at all of them and waited, but no one spoke. Sethe, who had pushed his way forward to the front of the table, stared quietly and then turned back and looked at Zahra. Zahra stared back regretfully and hoped that Sethe wasn't angry, but there wasn't anything that he could have done to stop it, whatever it was. Sethe walked away from the table and came back to where Zahra stood, his face covered with a mask of indifference. Zahra felt that he wasn't upset, but he was nervous, and he knew that he had made a mistake.

"No one broke it…it just shattered…" Mahado offered an explanation to Isis, who was still staring impatiently at the priests directly surrounding the table.

"On it's own?" She sounded angry, and Zahra watched as her line of sight went past the priests at the table and immediately fell on Sethe. Zahra looked up at Sethe's face and saw that he was glaring angrily back, and he stepped slightly in front of Zahra and spoke.

"I did nothing…now finish your ceremony." Isis opened her mouth to speak, but she thought better of it and reopened her book and continued reading the remainder of the ritual. The other priests fell back into the ceremony eventually, and then Sethe pulled Zahra aside and leaned over, whispering in his ear.

"Go and wait for me in my room." Zahra blinked, feeling panicked at the sound of Sethe's voice. He reached out and grabbed Sethe's shoulder as he was standing back up, and he paused and waited for Zahra to speak.

"Are you mad?" Sethe shook his head and pushed him lightly towards the doorway, and Zahra all but ran out of the room and down the hall, knowing the way to Sethe's room easily from where he was. Even though Sethe had said he wasn't mad, Zahra still felt awful about what he'd done, regardless of whether or not he could have done anything to stop it. When he reached Sethe's room he flung himself down on the bed, overwhelmed with a horrible mess of emotions and leftover discomfort. The pain was gone but a shadow of it remained in his mind, like emotional welts, and he fought the tears that threatened to rise once again.

_Maybe Sethe was right about me, about learning Heka. That was what that was, I'm sure of it, and I couldn't control it. There was no way; I was in too much pain to fight it. I hope that Sethe isn't angry with me…I told him that I would be alright. I guess I didn't know what I was talking about. But that pain…I've never felt anything like it before. It was nothing like the shrine, this was…_

He lay on his stomach and let his mind go, trying to think of what he could say to Sethe when he came for him. There wasn't much he _could _say; he didn't know how he did it, only that that he was the one responsible for breaking whatever it was that had shattered suddenly. How had he done that…? Zahra wanted to cry, but he held it in and kept his lips pressed together, refusing to give in and be weak when he knew that Sethe couldn't carry all of this for him. He could try, but Zahra didn't want that. Sethe had more than enough problems, and now he was trying to take on full responsibility for Zahra's, or so it seemed. But what would Zahra do if Sethe were not there? He didn't even want to imagine that. He flipped himself over and lay on his back, knowing that without Sethe he was lost and feeling guilty for it, for burdening him with so much. If only Zahra knew what he was, or could at least control what he was, then everything would be so much easier. But he didn't…and there was no way for him to know something like that. If Sethe didn't know, then no one did. It was hopeless. Zahra needed Sethe, and couldn't do a thing about it. If there were something that he could do for Sethe in return, then perhaps things wouldn't be so awful… But Zahra knew that he had nothing to offer, not even the simple act of staying out of Sethe's way.

* * *

AN: All will be revealed in time. Yes. Ooohh….thank you very much for all the very nice reviews. I'm very glad that everyone is enjoying this, perhaps even as much as I am. And yes, it does touch on certain points in Yu-Gi-Oh, but as Largo-sensei pointed out, at least there is no Anzu. I think that is something we can all appreciate. Anyway, let me know it you are enjoying the story, and if you are confused about anything just let me know, and I'll try to clear things up. Bye! 


	6. Akhet

Asylum

By Katsuya Kaiba

* * *

"…Zahra?" Sethe's voice came from nowhere, and Zahra sat up quickly and realized that he'd nearly fallen asleep. 

"Sethe? Are you…" Zahra rubbed at his eyes and looked again, finding Sethe standing just before the bed. "Are you finished?"

Sethe nodded and sat on the bed. "With everything. It's late…the sun's already set." Zahra noticed that Sethe was in his sleeping clothes, and he wondered vaguely as to how long he'd been asleep. Sethe swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sighed, lying down alongside Zahra and watching him carefully. Zahra shifted so that he was lying on his side as well, and he met Sethe's gaze nervously.

"I'm so sorry…I couldn't stop it."

"I know." Sethe's face was unreadable, but Zahra could tell that he wasn't mad, even now.

"…But you don't. I'm not just sorry for that. I'm sorry because…because all I ever do is make mistakes, and then you have to make up for them. I don't want to be that…something else that makes things harder." Zahra let his eyes fall to the bed underneath them, not wanting to look at Sethe while he said those things. Sethe was silent, but Zahra could hear him breath and think, without even trying to, and without looking he knew that Sethe was trying to think of words that were the correct ones.

"It's not because of what you are."

Zahra lifted his eyes and looked at Sethe's blue ones, wondering what he meant by that. "What's not?"

"The reason that I want to help you."

Zahra stared at Sethe, unable to speak. He had no idea that Sethe knew he thought that. Or maybe it was something that Sethe had been thinking about himself. "Then…why?"

Sethe opened his mouth and then paused, looking away from Zahra's eyes for a moment. "It's because I…want…to. I don't think that there is a reason for wanting to, other than I just _do_. I will, anyway, so there's no use in your being sorry. I would do it even if you didn't want me to."

Sethe's words brought relief to Zahra's mind, and he spoke more openly. "I'm glad, though. I mean, I wish that there was something you needed from me…but you'd say so, wouldn't you?" Sethe's eyes darkened for a moment, but he looked up at the ceiling and nodded wordlessly.

"Oh…" Zahra's face fell and he sat up on one elbow and looked down at Sethe. "You're leaving tomorrow, aren't you?"

Sethe's eyes found Zahra's again. "Just after we open the shrine. But then I'll be home the following evening, so it really won't be all that long. And Mahado will be here…which is much better then what happened last year. Isis stayed on and took care of the temple…and the entire time I was gone, all I thought about was how she was here, and how much I wished I didn't have to go. I still wish that, even more now that you're here, but Mahado is alright."

Zahra nodded. "At least he doesn't actually want the temple."

Sethe held Zahra's gaze and blinked at him, confused. "What?" Zahra realized that he'd said something that no one must have known. He had read Isis's desire when Sethe had brought him into the palace last week, and he'd forgotten that much of the knowledge he had attained in those first few days had been stolen.

"Oh…well, I saw it on her. Isis thinks that she should have the temple, because she's Shemsu-Amun-Ra, and you're not. I thought…I thought you knew."

Sethe shook his head, frowning angrily. "I knew that she wanted me out of the temple, but I didn't know that she wanted to take it from me. Hmph. Well, that's not happening, and she knows it. No wonder she's so much harder on me than the rest of the priests. They really don't seem to care that much, as long as I'm not around them. But Isis…she goes out of her way to make me uncomfortable…not that I do, but still." He frowned and folded his arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling.

"Sethe…did I get you in trouble today…in the ceremony?"

"No…but I'm going to be hearing about it during the entire trip tomorrow. And I'll probably have to explain what happened to the Pharaoh in private, but since I warned him, he can't be angry with you or me. I don't know why he would be, anyway. It's not like you hurt anyone, and I know that you only did it in self defense."

Zahra relaxed again and laid his head back down on the bed. "I didn't like that ritual." He thought of something just then and reached out, pushing against Sethe's shoulder. "Hey! Why didn't you tell me that my birthday was the same day as Suti's? Doesn't that mean anything?"

"It might. But it might not. It doesn't change anything. You're still what you are, and you would be even if you had been born on any other day." Zahra said nothing to that, and instead he looked at Sethe and thought about the way that he looked, and wondered if Sethe noticed it. He must have, it was more obvious than anything else about him, but still…Sethe had never asked. Was it because he knew that he looked strange, as well? Or was it that he just didn't care? Zahra had never met anyone who hadn't immediately asked him where he was from, but Sethe hadn't so much as mentioned it about either one of them.

_Maybe he doesn't like to talk about it…but I've never actually asked him if being Shemsu-Suti was the real reason that I look this way. I heard it once, long ago and just assumed that it was true, especially since Sethe looks different, as well. I won't ask him, though…not yet. _Zahra closed his eyes, the sleepiness from before returning, and he felt himself drifting off until something stirred above his head, and he felt fingers on his bangs. His eyes opened slightly and saw that Sethe was studying his hair thoughtfully, and Zahra closed his eyes again and wondered what Sethe was doing, but he didn't do anything to stop him.

"I haven't ever seen anyone with hair this color…just like gold. Open your eyes." Zahra did as he was told, and Sethe peered into his eyes closely. "They're just the same…I should have guessed…but I just wasn't thinking about it. Where are you from?"

"Here…in Heliopolis. I was born here, and so were my parents. I don't remember exactly how they looked, but I remember wondering why I didn't look like them when I was young…why?" Zahra cringed and closed his eyes again, suddenly uncomfortable under all the attention. "I know I look strange…is it bad?" He opened one eye and waited for Sethe's response, caring for the first time about what would be said. He'd always just brushed it off whenever someone thought he was ugly, caring for awhile but then forgetting about it eventually, but he didn't want Sethe to think that.

Sethe shook his head. "No…"

Zahra closed his eye, satisfied that Sethe was telling the truth, and he didn't open them again until Sethe woke him up the next morning to take care of the shrine.

* * *

"Now, Mahado will only be here in the morning and the evening, for the shrine. You'll be here alone during the day, but you've got a lot of work to do with your writing, so just keep yourself busy. Those owls…they need work." Zahra scoffed and frowned at Sethe, who smirked and then stopped walking. They had reached the temple entryway, and Sethe was ready to leave. He paused, looking as though he wanted to say something, but then deciding against it. 

"And you'll be back tomorrow night?"

Sethe nodded. "I should be home in time to close the shrine tomorrow night, but I probably won't feel much like doing it. Mahado has his own room in the palace, so the bed is all yours tonight. Don't get too used to it, though…you toss and turn enough as it is."

Zahra pushed him towards the staircase. "Just _go _already…I know what to do."

Sethe stood still on the first step, looking at Zahra, and he seemed frozen in place until Zahra smiled at him and touched the necklace on his chest. "I'll try not to break anything." Sethe grinned back at him and left, walking down the stairs and meeting the Pharaoh and everyone else who was going along to the Akhet. Zahra walked forward and sat down on the very first step and watched them go, wondering what he was going to do all day long. They had just finished opening the shrine, and the sun was now barely above the horizon. Zahra had an entire day…no, two entire days that were all his, and he wasn't going to waste them in the library.

Forget the owls…I'm going exploring! I haven't seen hardly any of the rooms in the temple, and Sethe said that there were…twenty, I think, maybe more…and Mahado isn't here to watch me…I've got my own temple.

Zahra stood up from his seat and skipped inside the temple, wondering where he should begin. He could start from one end and work his way down…or he could just run down the halls and randomly run through doorways. The second option being by far the most favorable, Zahra took off down the first hall and made a mental note not to be late to the shrine that evening.

* * *

He caught up with Mahado just as he was walking into the room, and congratulated himself for making it on time. The temple, Zahra had decided, was _boring_. There wasn't a single room in the temple that he had come across with anything terribly exciting in it, and he'd spent most of the day walking into rooms that he swore he'd already been inside of. There was only one hallway left that Zahra had yet to conquer, the dark one that lay deep inside the temple, where he had cast his first spell. 

Mahado _was_ quiet, just as Sethe had mentioned, but now that he and Zahra were alone, Zahra thought that perhaps he was just a little too quiet. Zahra still liked him; he was by far his favorite priest, not including Sethe, who Zahra didn't really see as a priest, anyway. Mahado didn't give Zahra a single instruction, and instead would look at him expectantly whenever it was Zahra's duty to do something, and Zahra was glad that he'd been practicing with Sethe for so long. After the shrine was sealed Mahado and Zahra ate together, and Zahra kept trying to think of things that the two of them could talk about, but it seemed to Zahra that Mahado wasn't too receptive to conversation.

"So…what's that thing around your neck?" Mahado looked down and pointed to the necklace that he wore, which was a large ring with a gold pyramid inside of it, and Zahra noticed that Mahado's necklace looked a good deal like Isis's necklace, and that other priests' eye. Zahra winced at the memory and then directed his attention back to Mahado. "Yeah…where did you get it?"

"From the Pharaoh." Mahado's voice was quiet, but Zahra understood him and smiled.

"He gave you that? Wow…I like it. It sort of looks like Isis's necklace. Does yours do something too?" Mahado nodded and continued to eat, and Zahra figured that he would most likely have to ask him to say what it did. Mahado, while being extremely nice, was not a conversationalist.

"What can it do?"

Mahado looked away from Zahra and fingered the ring around his neck. "I'm not really sure…"

"Oh…well, it still looks nice." Zahra smiled brightly at Mahado and took a huge bite of his bread.

"You're Shemsu-Suti."

Zahra nearly choked on his food, but he managed to swallow it and then he brought his eyes up to Mahado's, which were as agreeable as ever. Mahado didn't look away this time, and Zahra found that he couldn't, either.

Uh-oh…how did I mess this up? Sethe is going to kill me…it's too late now; he didn't ask me if I was, he flat out told me. Oh…I hope he didn't just take this job so he could get me alone and kill me…after being in that ceremony yesterday, it wouldn't surprise me.

"Uh…I…um…" Zahra fumbled for the words that would not come, and Mahado looked down and calmly kept eating his dinner.

"You are. It doesn't matter to me." Mahado was as friendly and calm as he always was, and Zahra let his muscles unclench slightly, sensing that he was telling the truth.

"It doesn't? But…but aren't you a follower of Amun-Ra?" Mahado nodded his head and took another bite of food, and Zahra was even more confused than before. "Then…aren't you supposed to hate me?"

Mahado paused and studied Zahra for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose. But I don't think that I will hate you." He hesitated again, and thought out what he was going to say fully before he spoke again. "The Pharaoh doesn't hate Sethe for it, and he doesn't hate you for it. So there isn't any reason for me to hate you for it." He fell into silence once more and stood up, finished with his food and walked towards the doorway. Zahra couldn't believe that Isis and Mahado represented the same group of people. But Isis, as he had learned, had her own interests at heart and was simply using Sethe's disadvantage to it's fullest. Zahra felt as though Mahado truly did hold the best interest of the Pharaoh above all else, and he smiled and waved goodbye to him as he walked out the door, and Mahado smiled back.

Zahra was too tired to do anything else but fall into bed when he was finished, and as he laid there he realized just what it was to sleep alone, after sleeping all those nights with Sethe close by. He reminded himself that it was only for the night, and that Sethe would return tomorrow, perhaps even before Zahra went to bed. He tried to stretch out and make the most of the situation, but it only served to remind him of just how cold it really was, and he curled up on his side and tried to remember the exact moment that he'd become so close to Sethe. He still hadn't been living with him very long, but the time that he had been here was spent almost entirely right at Sethe's side, and Zahra couldn't remember a time when they'd been apart for more than an hour. It hadn't hit him until just now, because he had kept himself busy during the day, but now that the night had set in the darkness followed, and Zahra was afraid of the darkness. It reminded him too much of what he was inside.

* * *

Mahado had come to wake Zahra up in time, and Zahra suspected that Sethe had told him to do that specifically; knowing that Zahra would never had gotten up in time on his own. Mahado never made another mention of Zahra's being Shemsu-Suti, and Zahra didn't try to bring it up, and once the shrine was finished and Mahado left, Zahra felt ready to do some more exploring. He left the shrine after he'd eaten and slowly made his way to the far end of the temple, taking his time so that Sethe would come home sooner, at least in his mind. 

The hallway he sought was there and just as dark as ever, but Zahra braved the shadows and decided to first find the room that he recognized, the one that Sethe said he had to cast all of his spells inside of. He remembered it being far down, almost to the end of the hallway, and he peeked inside the doorway and found it just as he had left it. Zahra stepped back and was about to turn back down the hall when the last room in the hallway caught the corner of his eye, and he froze in mid step and turned his head.

That wasn't a doorway…that room had an actual door on it, and Zahra walked right up to it and pushed on it experimentally, just to see what would happen. He didn't expect the door to be unlocked, and he definitely didn't expect to watch it swing open so easily. The room inside was as black as night, and Zahra backed away from the darkness that crept over the stone floor and seeped out of the room into the hallway, reaching out for his feet. The first thing that he wanted to do was leave, to close the door and walk away and pretend that he'd never found it. But deep inside, in a place that spoke quietly inside of him, he knew that he wasn't going to do that, and he left the hallway and returned to the main shrine, grabbing one of the torchsticks that were kept inside for lighting the fires.

Zahra was acting on instinct and the only thoughts in his mind were ones of necessity, and he lit the torch on the last fire that burned in the hallway and then walked slowly up to the open doorway and held the light inside. He still couldn't see very much, but he fumbled around in the dimly lit area until he found a plate similar to the one in the shrine of Amun-Ra, but here there was only one, against the center of the back wall. Zahra stuck his hand inside and felt something wet on his finger and knew that if he put the fire to it, it would light just as the others did for Sethe every morning. Zahra backed away from the plate as far as he could and tentatively held out the fire, just barely touching it to the gold and then moving it back, and the fire burst up high and sapphire and lit the entire room, and Zahra saw the red all around him with wide eyes and knew where he was, and knew whose shrine this was, and he froze. The torch in his hands clattered to the floor and his breath caught in his throat as he understood what he was, and knew who he was, after seventeen years of chasing after the sunlight and all the while suppressing the darkness, which never really was darkness to begin with. No…it had been misunderstanding.

* * *

Sethe was tired, and since the sun had already set he knew that he wasn't in time to close the shrine himself, and was glad for that. He didn't feel like doing much besides finding Zahra and then going directly to bed. The Akhet had been just as awful as it always was, all those people running about and being so damn merry about everything…Sethe hated festivals, and celebrations, and just about anything else that involved more than two people getting together for more than just a chat. All he wanted to do now was hide away in the temple with Zahra and hopefully never have to come out again, although he knew that each day that passed was just another that brought him closer to next year's flood. He walked into the main shrine and found Mahado eating quietly, looking slightly pensive about something, which caught Sethe's attention at the same time as Mahado's eating alone did, as well. 

"Sethe." Mahado nodded his head slightly and then opened his mouth to speak, but Sethe cut him off, unintentionally, anxious to know where Zahra was.

"Where's Zahra?" Mahado looked at Sethe thoughtfully and set his food down.

"He's in the shrine." Sethe stepped back and looked all around, but saw no sign of Zahra. "Not this shrine…another one." Frowning, Sethe stared at Mahado and wondered why he had allowed this.

"But…why would he be in another shrine? He's supposed to be helping you with this one." Mahado only stared back at Sethe with an empty expression, and Sethe sighed impatiently. "Alright…which shrine is he in?" Mahado looked down at his food and remained silent, causing Sethe's impatience to fall into a slight temper. "Mahado…there are seventeen shrines in this temple. Do you really want me to have to go and search through all of them?" Sethe was angry, why was Mahado acting this way?

"Eighteen."

Sethe blinked, feeling something plummet inside of him. "…What?"

Mahado looked up at Sethe pleasantly. "There are eighteen shrines in this temple…but the one that Zahra's in is the one that I don't know about."

Sethe was out the doorway and in the hall the very second that Mahado had finished speaking, and he knew in that moment exactly where he could find Zahra. Sethe had purposely not taken Zahra there, knowing that he didn't truly believe in what he was, and until he did it wouldn't be any use to him. But if he had missed the closing of the shrine, something must be happening in there, and Sethe was instantly worried. There wasn't any real danger, but still, Zahra was alone, and Sethe didn't like that idea, especially in matters such as these. Sethe wished that he had asked Mahado how long Zahra had been in there, but he knew that Mahado either didn't know or wouldn't say. Sethe knew that Mahado was not going to tell anyone of what he knew, and for that Sethe was grateful, knowing that if he were found out Isis would be all over it. And the Pharaoh…he might not like it much, either. But neither one of them understood.

Sethe turned the corner and immediately saw the firelight from the room, burning bright enough to light up the entire end of the hallway with a flickering blue, and he quieted his footsteps and walked carefully up to the open doorway, wondering how Zahra had unlocked it. He could already hear Zahra's quiet sobs, and he crept up soundlessly to the room and stood motionless in the doorway, not sure of what to do in such a situation. He couldn't remember anyone ever crying in front of him before, and he clenched and then unclenched his hands, feeling very apprehensive about being where he was. Zahra was on his knees, on the floor, and his hands were on his face as he cried. Sethe wasn't sure how long this had been going on, but more than anything he felt an incredible urge to go in there and make him stop, using whatever means necessary. He swayed on his feet, debating whether he should go or not, but Zahra sat up suddenly and turned around, knowing that Sethe was home. He didn't stop crying, however, and as Sethe watched him he realized that he _couldn't_, and he was trying to since Sethe was here but it wasn't possible. Sethe's eyes met Zahra's and the thing that had held him inside the doorway was shattered instantly, and he walked into the shrine and kneeled in front of Zahra, and Zahra closed his eyes and fell forward.

Sethe caught him in time and waited; listening to Zahra crying against his chest and feeling his hands come up and cling tightly to the fabric on his shoulders. The priest bit his lip and let his arms circle Zahra's waist, and he rested his chin lightly on Zahra's head and tried to think of something, anything, that would make him stop, but Zahra spoke haltingly moments later and he had to listen closely.

"I am…I am like you…"

Sethe took a deep breath, knowing that Zahra truly meant it this time. "I know."

Zahra's crying slowed just a bit, and he spoke a little clearer. "I didn't really think I was…until just now. And there's something more…but I don't know who." He lifted his arms and let them fall over Sethe's shoulders, still crying but it wasn't as bad as before. "I'm glad you're home."

Sethe winced at the sound of Zahra's tears but tightened his hold on his waist and tried not to hear it. "Me, too." Zahra pressed his face into Sethe's shoulder and cried harder, no longer able to speak and exhausted from crying for so long. Sethe got the impression that Zahra was nearing an overtired hysteria, and he tried to get Zahra to speak again but he wouldn't respond, and instead only sobbed harder. Sethe sighed, and then pulled Zahra back a bit until he could see his face. He hated to do this, but Zahra had to sleep.

Zahra sat back on his knees and rubbed at his eyes tiredly, but Sethe reached out and pulled his hands away from his face, and as Zahra stared at him he passed his left hand over Zahra's eyes and spoke quietly.

"Neqed, hereret." Zahra jumped slightly but then his body went slack and Sethe caught him before he hit the ground. Zahra's crying had stopped suddenly and Sethe knew that he was fast asleep, and he laid him out in the hallway temporarily as he went back inside the shrine and put out the fire, looking around suspiciously for any signs of something amiss. Everything was as it had always been, and Sethe shut the door to the shrine and turned back to Zahra, still under a deep sleep. Sethe stared at him, still confused as to what exactly had happened to him, but knowing that Zahra most likely wouldn't want to talk about it right away, if ever. He understood now, the same way that Sethe himself understood, and Sethe knew that he now believed in what he was. Zahra had always suspected it was true, and had even admitted so once or twice, but the conviction wasn't there. Sethe hoped that the conviction wouldn't bring fear along with it, as it had for him. Zahra was afraid enough already.

Sethe bent over and hooked one arm underneath Zahra's knees and slipped the other under his neck and lifted him easily, carrying him down the halls that led to Sethe's room. Zahra weighed almost nothing, and Sethe knew that it sure wasn't from lack of eating. Zahra was eating constantly, and Sethe was amazed at how small he really was, now that he had him in his arms. He didn't even feel the slightest strain as he walked through the temple, and he knew that it was partly due to just how much shorter Zahra was than Sethe. Side by side, Sethe had noticed that Zahra's head barely made it to Sethe's shoulders, and everything else about Zahra was the same way. His ankles and his wrists were thin, his shoulders were narrow, and although his legs were long for his size, they were still short compared to Sethe's, and Sethe smiled at the thought and looked down at Zahra's sleeping face. He looked nearly breakable, especially when he was asleep, Sethe had noticed many times since Zahra had come to live in the temple, on nights when Sethe had trouble falling asleep.

Sethe walked inside his room and moved towards the bed, laying Zahra down gingerly and then, knowing that there wasn't any way for Zahra to wake up now unless he lifted his spell, changing his clothes for sleep. He lay down on the other side of the bed and turned over on his side, watching Zahra's chest rise and fall slowly and wishing that he hadn't had to put him under like that. He hoped that Zahra wouldn't be upset with him when he woke up, and Sethe hadn't meant to frighten him. He'd only wanted him to stop crying, more so than he had wanted anything else in a long time.

* * *

The moment that Zahra opened his eyes, he knew that he had overslept, but he looked around and saw that Sethe was lying on the bed next to him, fully dressed and reading a book silently. 

What happened yesterday…? It's already the next day, and I don't even remember Sethe coming home. I don't remember anything past when I…when I lit that fire. Did Sethe find me in there?

Zahra sat up and looked at Sethe nervously, hoping that he wasn't angry with him. It was no doubt something that Sethe was hiding, although hiding it from Zahra wasn't something that he had expected. Sethe looked up from his book and watched Zahra carefully, waiting for him to speak.

"What happened? Did you…" Zahra's words fell into silence, and Sethe looked back down at his book.

"You don't remember?" Zahra shook his head, and Sethe continued. "I found you in Suti's shrine. Do you remember going inside?"

"I remember lighting the fire…but nothing after that. Why didn't you wake me up this morning?"

Sethe set his book down on the bed and sat up. "You needed to sleep…and I didn't mind." Zahra let his eyes fall to the bed, feeling guilty for what he'd done.

"I…I'm sorry…it was stupid to go in there, and I knew it." He tried to remember what had happened, but nothing would come up, it felt as though his memory was held down deeply by something inside of him that kept it hidden, and instead he remembered what he _hadn't_ done. "Oh, no…Mahado! He-"

"Mahado won't tell anyone. I've already spoken to him. Here, don't think about it right now. Give me your hands." Zahra raised his eyebrows, confused, but he held out his arms and Sethe took his left wrist and undid the clasp on his bracelet.

"What…hey…I can't take those off." Zahra protested, but Sethe ignored him and took his right hand, undoing the bracelet on that wrist as well and setting them on the edge of the bed. He then reached out and took Zahra's ankles and stripped both of them bare, standing up off the bed and taking the tarnished gold over to his barren and lonely single dresser. Zahra rubbed the naked skin, feeling odd and uncomfortable without them on, but he watched Sethe quietly and waited to see what he would do next.

"When I was at the Akhet…I saw something and I knew that you would like it. So I brought it back for you. Actually…I saw a few things." Sethe spoke quietly and his tone held nothing except the words that he spoke, and Zahra watched him as he opened the top drawer and pulled out a wooden box and two bottles filled with something in two different shades, and Zahra recognized them immediately and he gasped, a huge smile breaking over his face.

"You didn't…let me see!" Sethe held out the bottles and Zahra snatched them from his hands, beaming brightly. "Henna…and indigo…Sethe, can I dye my hair? Please?"

Sethe sat down on the edge of the bed and placed the wooden box in front of Zahra. "You can dye whatever you want, as long as you don't make a mess. But don't dye out all the gold." Sethe gave Zahra an odd look, and Zahra noticed it but he smiled anyway and looked down at the box.

"What's in there?"

"Open it." Zahra set the two bottles on the bed beside him and lifted the lid of the box slowly, wondering what Sethe could have seen that made him think of Zahra. His eyes widened and he held his breath for a moment, just staring into the box silently. Sethe reached inside and pulled out the bracelets first, then took Zahra's arm and slipped one of them around his hand, pulling the rings on over his fingers and clasping them all together on the back of his wrist. Zahra watched him as he fastened it, and lifted his hand wordlessly as Sethe reached for it and slid on the other bracelet. They were gold, and instead of the one ring that Zahra's other bracelets had strung to them, these ones had five. _Five_. And each one set with lapis lazuli. Sethe glanced up at Zahra's face quickly but Zahra was looking at his hands, and Sethe reached into the box and pulled out the anklets, fastening them carefully around Zahra's ankles. He then sat back and watched Zahra, who wore an unreadable expression and pulled his arms around his knees, looking at both of his new sets and thinking quietly.

Sethe cleared his throat. "So…you like them? I know your birthday was a few days ago, but it's not too late, right?"

Zahra glanced up sharply at the sound and nodded slowly, letting his arms fall from his knees and moving forward. He crawled across the bed and kneeled in front of where Sethe sat, pressing his face into his shoulder and wrapping his arms around his neck.

"Yes…thank you." Zahra's voice was whisper quiet, but Sethe heard him and smiled. Zahra held on for a long time, thinking about saying what he thought but then deciding against it, and he pulled back and grinned at Sethe wryly, faintly noticing a light flush on his cheeks. "I hope that you didn't have anything planned for today…" He reached down and grabbed the indigo, "because I'm busy."

* * *

The next day Zahra and Sethe sat side by side in the library, Sethe reading, and Zahra pretending to. Zahra lifted his reed and dipped the tip in the ink, and something caught Sethe's eye and he blinked and lowered his book. 

"What happened to your nails?" It had escaped him, somehow, in the shrine that morning, but here in the well-lit library Zahra's nails were obviously black, and Sethe stared at them, wondering how he'd done it. Zahra grinned at him and held them up in front of his face.

"Oh, you noticed…I dyed them. See? They match my toes." Sethe leaned back and looked under the table and sure enough, each one of Zahra's toenails was as black as night. "Do you like it?"

Sethe looked back and forth, from his hands to his feet, and thought carefully about the question. "I didn't know you could do that." Zahra frowned at him, and then turned his hands over and looked at them himself.

"Well…I like it, anyway."

"I didn't say I didn't like it…I've just never seen it done."

"But you didn't say that you did, either," Zahra pointed out with a pout. Sethe lifted his book up higher and pretended to read the text, trying to come up with whatever it was that was the correct thing to say. Evidently he hadn't said it yet.

"You didn't give me a chance. I _do_ like it…"

"Really?" Zahra watched Sethe hopefully, and Sethe glanced down from the book he held and nodded silently. "Alright, then…and you still like my hair, right?" Sethe nodded again, not needing to stare at that any more than he already had, and he lifted his book even higher, a bit too high for purposes of reading but perfect for avoiding eye contact. Zahra had taken the indigo and dyed most of the hair around the nape of his neck, casting a shadow underneath the gold, and then framed his face with a few carefully placed streaks of fire red in his bangs. Zahra didn't notice Sethe's aversion and instead continued to practice his writing, which was so much more fun with his new jewelry to stare at while he did so. He put the reed to the paper and then paused, glancing up at Sethe and then setting his reed down, not entirely satisfied with the conversation.

"So, you're sure that it looks alright like this? Because I wanted to dye all of black, but you wouldn't let me." Sethe groaned, not wanting to relive the endless conversation from the day before.

"Why do you want to dye it black?" Zahra shrugged, but he didn't answer. "It's because you want to look like everyone else…isn't it?" Zahra didn't even shrug this time, and instead he fingered his rings absentmindedly, choosing not to answer and knowing that he didn't have to. Seth sighed, put down his book and looked at Zahra completely. "Well…you won't. I'm not saying that it would look bad, but you can't change your eye color, or your skin, either. And anyway…even if you could change all that, what would it matter? You would still be exactly what you are right now…underneath all that."

Zahra tilted his head to the side and looked up at Sethe. "I know…I was just thinking about it, that's all."

"Well, stop. Your hair was nice before, and it still is, because of the color you always had. If you dye it all out, I won't like it." Sethe picked up his book and opened it quickly, staring at it hard and wondering if he'd said too much. Worrying, really, and Zahra watched him and thought that he was angry.

"I didn't mean it like that…I'm sorry. I didn't know that you liked it that much…" Zahra wasn't entirely sure why Sethe appeared to be angry because he didn't feel angry underneath, and Zahra didn't think that he had done anything too terribly wrong.

Maybe he just doesn't want to talk about it right now. He's acting awfully strange about it, though… 

A feeling broke through his thoughts and came forward into his upper mind, and Zahra looked towards the doorway and spoke without thinking. "Someone's coming." Sethe looked at Zahra first and then the doorway, and a few moments later the Pharaoh walked through quietly and found both Zahra and Sethe staring at him suspiciously.

"What?"

Zahra laughed quietly and smiled at him, then turned to look and see what Sethe was doing. He was staring at his book, even harder than he had been before, and now Zahra was afraid that something was really wrong with him. He knew that Sethe had seen the Pharaoh…why wasn't he talking to him?

"Hello, Sethe…Zahra." Zahra smiled and waved cheerily, and the gold links of his bracelet jangled as he did so. Zahra waved a lot more these days. Sethe only made a noise, just loud enough so that everyone could hear, and continued to look at the pages in front of his face. Zahra watched the Pharaoh, who didn't seem to be surprised by Sethe's behavior, and Zahra thought that perhaps something had happened on their trip, which was the last time that Sethe and the Pharaoh had spoken.

I remember now, Sethe saying something about having to explain what happened at the ceremony to him, since there wasn't any doubt that Isis would tell him and put the blame on Sethe…I wish that I could have stopped that.

The Pharaoh sat down across from Zahra and Sethe and looked the smaller boy over with a suspicious smirk. "Zahra…you're looking well taken care of these days." Zahra smiled and opened his mouth, but Sethe cut him off.

"He is." Sethe glanced up from his book just long enough to give the Pharaoh a glare, and then cast his eyes downward again. His tone had been short, very short, and Zahra couldn't believe that he'd gone from being completely relaxed when he and Zahra were alone to this, angry and sharply spoken. Zahra looked at Sethe questioningly, but Sethe wouldn't make eye contact with anyone. Zahra looked up at the Pharaoh slowly, not sure if it was alright to say anything to him, but wanting someone to explain why Sethe was acting so strangely all of a sudden.

"Sethe…we need to talk."

Sethe flipped a page in his book idly, not bothering to look up. "We already did."

"Well, obviously we aren't finished, because you're still upset." Sethe looked up and met the Pharaoh's gaze, and as the two of them silently stared Zahra's discomfort grew, and he began to feel as though he should leave. He wanted to leave, and he looked at Sethe to see if he would give Zahra any direction, but Sethe was still locked in a heated stare with the Pharaoh. Zahra stood up suddenly and touched Sethe's arm, and Sethe broke the look and glanced up at Zahra, not a trace of his former anger left on his features.

"I'm…I'm gonna go for a minute…" Sethe nodded his head and looked back at the Pharaoh, and Zahra nearly ran out of the room, feeling Sethe's resentment rising steadily in the air. He couldn't stand to be around when Sethe was like that, it hit him hard and deep, and he got out into the hallway and breathed, wondering just what had happened between the two of them. Sethe had a bad temper, but he never spoke anything but praise of his cousin, so whatever had happened must have made him awfully angry. Not wanting to miss out on the information, he tiptoed back down the hallway until he was just a few feet from the doorway and leaned against the wall, listening with every sense that he had. There was a feeling of being cornered, and protectiveness, and behind that was something subtler and foreign, feelings from a person that he wasn't familiar with, he assumed that those were from the Pharaoh. They were calm and collected and represented a slight discomfort, surrounded by a sense of duty, and Zahra listened with his ears, hearing their voices rise.

"…You don't even know what he is." That was the Pharaoh, and Zahra took another cautious step towards the door to hear Sethe's reply. It came, grating and filled with a defensive tone.

"I know plenty about what he is. Far more than you ever will."

"Sethe, I've never been anything but accepting of you, and I don't think that it's fair for you to act this way. I never said that I thought he wasn't Shemsu-Suti, but after what happened at that ceremony, don't tell me that you can't see that he's something more than just that."

"And what would you know about it?"

"Everything that I learned from you…learned _with_ you. Sethe, we've been living together since we were ten, I think that during that time I might have learned a bit about what you are. When we found out, neither one of us knew a thing about it, but we found out together."

"What, you don't think that I see it? Every time I look at him, I know that there's something that I'm overlooking, something about what he is. And I'm trying to help him the best I can. But you…you aren't making it any easier for him. I still can't believe that you forced me to take him to that ritual. I told you exactly why it was a bad idea, and now look what's happened. And then you have the nerve to hold it against him."

"I never said that I blamed him for what happened!" The Pharaoh's voice rose up, and both Sethe and the Pharaoh were speaking loudly, loud enough so that Zahra didn't have to try and listen closely. "I'm only concerned as to what else he may be capable of and unable to control. What if he hurts himself, or someone else? You can't say it isn't possible."

"Zahra wouldn't hurt anything or anyone. He isn't that way."

"How can you be so sure? He's been here, what, a whole two weeks? Less, maybe? I'm sorry, Sethe, but you can't learn everything there is to know about a person in that short amount of time."

"I know him better than you do, and I knew that it was a mistake to put him in that ritual. Wasn't I right about that?"

Zahra could hear the Pharaoh sighing in frustration. "Sethe, you're being unreasonable. I can't just think about Zahra, the way you seem to want me to. I'm responsible for an entire nation of people, and right now, Zahra…through no fault of his own or yours, is a threat to a good number of them. All I'm asking you to do is watch him closely and to keep him under control."

"You talk about him like he's-"

"Like he's what? A slave? He is, and you know that."

Sethe was silent, and Zahra could feel something deep burning inside of him.

"Sethe…" He didn't answer, and the Pharaoh paused for a long minute before speaking again, and his voice had lowered considerably. "Sethe…look at me. You know that I'm not trying to hurt you…don't you? But what happened at that ceremony can't happen again. If you have to teach him Heka, then do it, just make sure that you teach him how to control what he is."

"How can I teach him if I don't have any idea what that might be? You're the one who's being unreasonable."

No one spoke for a minute or so, and Zahra felt that he might need to leave, just so no one saw him in the hallway as they left, but the voice of the Pharaoh came quietly once more, and Zahra waited and leaned in closer to the doorway.

"Look…I don't know what's going on between you two, but whatever it is, it's not more important than what you are. You're my Kher Heb, and that responsibility has to come first. Above _all else_…so please, don't complicate matters further." Zahra heard the scraping of chair legs against the stone, and he immediately ran away from the doorway and all the way to Sethe's room, praying that he was quick enough. He didn't want the Pharaoh or Sethe to know that he had heard all that, and as he ran the conversation that he had listened to sunk into his mind and the guilt from days before returned, stronger than ever.

_It's just as I thought it was, although Sethe said otherwise. Now he's in serious trouble…and it's all because of me. There isn't any way around it…if only I had been able to control myself during the ritual. If only…if only I was just like Sethe and nothing else…I wish that I could remember what happened to me in Suti's shrine…it just feels as though I learned something, something so important. The Pharaoh is right…I am Shemsu-Suti, but there's something more, and I knew it, I knew it on that night. But I just can't remember. _

Zahra ran into the room and sat down on the bed, trying to look as though he'd been there the whole time, idly playing with his bracelets, but inside he felt as though he might just scream. Sethe was so…it sounded odd to even think it, but Sethe really was so patient and thoughtful, even if it was only to Zahra. And Zahra knew that he was nothing but trouble, unleashed trouble that could be set off at any time, for any reason, and even he wouldn't know why. But no one did anything but smile at Zahra, even if they had a problem with him. They instead would turn to Sethe, and force him to fix whatever it was. But Sethe couldn't fix what Zahra was…and perhaps no one could.

What if I never learn? If I never remember…? How long will Sethe be able to cover for me? Oh, god…what if I have to leave?

Zahra blinked and his eyes widened as he stared at the bracelets around his wrists. That was the final thought that hit him close to his heart, and he closed his eyes tightly as a stray tear formed on the edge of his eyelids and threatened to fall down his cheek.

But I don't want to go. I can't…I won't. I'll just have to try harder, and figure out how to control this thing inside of me. I have to do something for Sethe besides cause trouble. I'll ask him about learning Heka again…I feel as though that is the right thing to do…

"Zahra?" Sethe walked into the room, and Zahra opened his eyes quickly and then felt the tear that he had held off begin to slide down his skin, and he hastily wiped it away before Sethe could see. Zahra sat up and pulled his legs underneath him crosslegged and smiled, glad for the fact that the cosmetic never ran or came off under tears alone.

"Are you finished talking?" Zahra played innocent, and Sethe looked away and grimaced, nodding his head. He sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at Zahra, and Zahra knew that he was trying to come up with the right words to say.

"The Pharaoh…the Pharaoh was worried about what happened at the ceremony. He wants me to make sure that it doesn't happen again…but I didn't promise him anything. So just do your best and don't worry. You're going to start learning Heka…today. Unless you have something much more important scheduled…like, say, a dye job, or something." Zahra frowned in mock anger, despite the way he felt, and was glad that Sethe was here to lift some of the pressure from his shoulders. He reached out and hit Sethe on the arm, but Sethe only smirked and stood up from the bed. "I'm just saying because you blew off writing all day yesterday and held up the bathroom."

"But it was worth it, wasn't it?" Sethe didn't reply, and instead he only smiled and walked out the door, Zahra trailing along right behind him.

* * *

AN: Ahhh! They are so cute! U like? 


	7. Ba

Asylum

By Katsuya Kaiba

AN: I really like this. I can't say why. I'm not even sure. Look out for romance. It begins here.

* * *

Zahra walked closely behind Sethe as they crossed the darkened hallway, and the closed door came into view and Zahra paused before entering the working room, staring thoughtfully at the shrine. Sethe stopped in the doorway as he saw what Zahra was staring at, and he watched him for any sort of reaction, seeing only confusion on Zahra's face. 

"You still don't remember?"

Zahra shook his head. "No…I remember knowing that you were right, and I remember learning something…about who was inside of me. But I can't remember who."

"Who? There was someone else?"

"I think so…it's just in the way that I remember. I remember finding someone else inside, but it wasn't anyone that I'd ever known." Sethe frowned, but he reached out and pulled on Zahra's sleeve, and Zahra followed him inside the room.

"Just don't think about it right now. You have to concentrate on what we're going to be doing." Sethe left Zahra at the empty table and crossed the room, pulling a few things off the shelves and carrying them over. He placed them on the table and then paused, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at Zahra thoughtfully. "I think that we should begin with something small…something that you can mess up at and still not destroy anything." Zahra's shoulders slumped and he pouted, whishing that Sethe would let him live that down.

"I really didn't mean to do that…"

"No, I know…but you wouldn't mean to do it at any point. It could still feasibly happen, though…but even if it does, don't worry. No one's here to see it now." He glanced down at the table and surveyed what he'd grabbed. "Here…take this. Before you can use Heka, you need to learn how to draw it out." The dagger was pressed into Zahra's hand, and Sethe guided his arm until Zahra was holding the blade pointing upward within inches of his face, the metal so close to his nose that he had to cross his eyes in order to see it clearly.

"Alright…are you ready?" Zahra nodded, not taking his eyes off the dagger. "Close your eyes…" Zahra did as he was told, but then reopened them as he felt Sethe moving away. "I'm not going anywhere, I'm just going to stand behind you." Zahra nodded his head and relaxed, closing his lids once more and waiting for Sethe's direction. "Now…this might take awhile, so don't worry if it feels like it's taking too long. Remember when you cast your first spell?"

Zahra did remember, and he nodded his head again, trying to conjure up that feeling of what it was like. "I drew the Heka for you then, but now you're going to draw your own. All you need to do is pull it out of everything around you. There's Heka in everything…even in this room, and the Heka that is aligned with you will be drawn out as you call it."

Zahra spoke, quietly but Sethe was so close that he heard him clearly. "Yours is red."

"Yours will be, too."

"How can you know?"

"Because you were able to use mine, and you can't use a color that isn't aligned with you. I could never use Mahado's, because his is gold. Although he can't see that…but you and I both can. You and I can share Heka whenever we want, and it wouldn't make any difference, because we draw the same color. There's a certain amount of each color in everything, but you and I will only ever be able to draw out the red. No other color will react to us."

"Does it change anything?"

Sethe's voice was close, on his ear almost, and Zahra felt it more than before. "Sometimes. Certain spells require certain sorts of Heka, and so we'll never be able to cast those spells. But you can usually just write around that. It's all in how you write the spell. But we won't cast one today."

Zahra took a deep breath, understanding what Sethe was explaining and feeling ready to give it a shot. "Okay…what should I do?"

"Close you eyes. And keep them closed, because it's so much easier to see Heka with your eyes closed. Now, remember the way that it looked before?" Zahra nodded, remembering both the look and the feel of those crimson shades and shadows, wire thin and nearly transparent. "With your eyes closed you can see all around you. Relax…" Zahra let his muscles unclench, not ever realizing that he'd held them so tightly. "…And look without your eyes. You'll see them, in a moment. Just be patient, and don't force it."

Zahra kept his eyes shut lightly and let his shoulders fall, knowing that if he fell because of anything, Sethe was right behind him and would catch him like last time. He thought as quietly as he could, thinking about the way that those pieces of Heka had looked, but not trying to look directly for them. He got the impression that they would come on their own, if he called them right, and after what felt like only seconds, the first of the ruby threads appeared in the far right corner of his mind, and he pulled it to himself slowly.

"Be careful not to pull it into yourself. Pull it into the blade." Zahra focused his mind directly on the blade, and the Heka followed his line of thought just as they had the last time, imitating his intention and disappearing into his mental image of the gold dagger, and he knew that it was happening before him as well. He wanted to open his eyes and look, but he realized that he couldn't, because instead of the one red string there were now hundreds of them, and Zahra nearly panicked before he realized that perhaps he was pulling in a little too hard. But Sethe had never made any mention of that. He quickly redirected his thoughts on the blade, and they all swarmed towards it and inside, but instead of clearing his mind it only made way for more, and he could feel his muscles tightening in fear.

"Zahra, that's…that's too much. Send the rest back." Sethe sounded calm and patient, and Zahra immediately relaxed and let the thought of the dagger go, and without a direction the remaining Heka scattered and slowly disappeared, and Zahra opened his eyes and took a deep breath, recognizing the room that he was in. He'd almost forgotten that he was there. He turned around and faced Sethe, who wore an empty expression but smiled when Zahra smiled at him.

"Look, I did it!" Sethe looked at the blade, and he could see the shade in it as well as Zahra could.

"You did. And you did it quickly, too, although you'll never have a use for that much Heka." Zahra glanced down at the dagger in his hands and frowned.

"Why not? Is it a lot?"

Sethe took the dagger from Zahra and held it in his hands lightly, looking it over. "This is too much, Zahra. But it's not your fault…do you feel alright?"

Zahra blinked and knitted his brows, confused. "I feel fine."

Sethe shrugged, and then handed the dagger back to him. "Here…take this."

"What did I do? Did I mess up?"

"No...but you know…" Sethe looked at Zahra levelly and grinned, "If I ever drew out that much Heka I'd probably collapse, _if _I was able to do it at all. But you feel fine?"

"Just the same as before."

"Good…now, you aren't going to use that Heka, but you can't just keep it in the blade, or it will die. And that's not good. If you mistreat Heka, it will eventually stop responding to you, and then you'll have nothing to cast spells with. So, now do the exact opposite of everything you just did. Send it back where it came from." Zahra lifted the blade to his face once again and closed his eyes. Sethe was right, and as he let it all go, each and every strand worked itself out of the blade and fell back into the shadow of his mind, and as soon as the last red shade had disappeared, he let his eyes flutter open and he turned around, smiling at Sethe.

"That's easy…let's do something else."

Sethe shook his head. "We shouldn't…we'll wait until tomorrow. It's only the first day, and if you overdo it now, you won't be able to practice tomorrow. Trust me…I know." Sethe's voice turned sour towards the end of his sentence, and he and Zahra both put everything away and left the room. "It's late, anyway…the shrine has to be sealed." Zahra groaned and followed Sethe, not wanting to go back in that room but knowing that it had to be done. The discomfort never got any better than it had when he had first gone inside wearing that necklace, and while it was infinitely easier than before, going inside that shrine was Zahra's least favorite part of each day.

* * *

Sethe was already changed into his bedclothes when he caught up with Zahra in his bedroom. "Are you tired?" Zahra sat up on the bed and watched Sethe inquiringly. Sethe paused, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and he thought out his sentence before he asked, leaving a long minute of silence that had Zahra wondering what he was thinking about. "If you want, I'd like to show you something." 

"In the temple?"

"No…it's in the palace, but I'm sure that no one will mind if I take you there. Do you want to go?"

Zahra jumped up off the bed and smiled at Sethe as he walked towards him. "Of course. Let's go."

The walk through the temple at night was longer than usual and filled with shadows, at least in Zahra's mind, but he walked closely to Sethe and followed him through the back of the temple and into the palace from the side. They walked along the end of the throne room, never coming close to the actual throne and therefore not drawing any attention to themselves, and in the very back of the room there was a wide stone staircase that led upwards, and as Zahra walked alongside Sethe he could see that the staircase led up through the roof, and seconds later they were outdoors and still climbing higher. Zahra looked back and saw the roof of the temple just behind him, and then looked ahead of him and saw that they still had much higher to climb, and Zahra was glad that he wasn't afraid of heights. The staircase came to an end and it leveled off on the roof of the palace, and Zahra could see a doorway surrounded by firelight not too far off, but he turned his head and looked behind him instead and his eyes widened and he held his breath for a moment.

From this height, he could see almost every piece of Heliopolis, and he hadn't realized just how high they had climbed until that moment, and he stared out over the city silently, the sky behind it night blue and ever darkening. All of the stars were so much more visible from this height, and he let his gaze trail upwards and saw the same stars that he had always seen ever since he could remember, only now that he was here they were so much brighter than they ever had been. It could have been the height, but Zahra thought that perhaps it was more than just that, and he turned and found Sethe waiting for him to look.

"It's beautiful from up here…" Sethe blinked and then looked over at the city, then looked back at Zahra.

"What…that? I suppose…but we're not here for that. Look…" Sethe pointed at the doorway Zahra had spotted earlier, and Zahra's face fell as he realized that they weren't here to relax. Zahra walked behind Sethe towards the room, amazed at his ability to think of nothing but what had to be done. He never just wanted to take a break and talk for awhile, there was always something that he had to do.

"…What's in there?" Zahra and Sethe came up on the doorway and Zahra peeked inside, seeing that it was rather small. Sethe moved through the doorway and pulled Zahra inside with him and pointed to the walls, and Zahra looked at them closely and then stepped closer to them. "What…what are all these?"

Every inch of each wall was covered with odd pictures, and they were all lined up and arranged in rows that spanned from one end of the wall to the other, repeating endlessly over each of the four walls. They were pictures of animals and creatures that Zahra had never seen before, and each one was carved into the stone wall deeply, surrounded by four lines that created an even border around each picture, separating each one squarely. They covered the walls from the ceiling to the floor, and Zahra moved sideways, trying to get a good look at them all.

"This is a record of every Ba that exists in this world. Your Ba…is one of these. Although I don't know which one yet."

Zahra looked at Sethe, and then turned his eyes back to the walls. "I don't understand. What's Ba?"

Sethe looked up at the wall, scanning the pictures slowly. "Your Ba is…well, everyone has one. It's what keeps you alive, and what makes you who you are, inside. Whichever god you belong to chooses your Ba, and the instant that you're born it's inside of you, and the moment that you die, it leaves. You can't see it…but it can be drawn out."

Zahra watched Sethe speak with wide eyes, and he felt his heart jump up to his chest for an unknown reason. "You…you can? But how…won't the person die?"

Sethe shook his head. "Not if it's done correctly…I've done it before, to myself and others. And it leaves sometimes on it's own, in your sleep, if it's called away by it's creator. Your Ba is your connection with the god who chose you…so in your case, your Ba would be a creature aligned with Suti." Zahra only stared at Sethe, imagining what it must have been like for Sethe to draw his out. Zahra's first thought was that it must have been terrifying. "But you're right…it is dangerous, and a person can't live long without it…not more than a few hours. I did it to learn who I was inside…and soon, I want you to do it as well."

Zahra froze, but Sethe looked at him calmly, and Zahra knew that Sethe wouldn't ask him to do something that could possibly hurt him. "…Okay. Will you be there?" Sethe nodded, and Zahra smiled. "Then it's fine." He looked up the walls surrounding him and realized that there were hundreds of possibilities, and he stepped back towards the doorway and looked at Sethe. "Which one do you think I am?"

"I couldn't say…but I know that it won't be one that I've ever seen before. I've drawn Ba out of countless people, but none of them ever felt the way that you do. Yours will be…" Sethe stared at Zahra as he spoke, and whatever he meant to say was lost as he looked deeply into Zahra's eyes.

"Will be what?" Zahra tilted his head to one side and stared back at Sethe, honestly wanting to know how his Ba would be. Sethe smiled dismally at the ground and spoke quietly.

"It will be perfect." Sethe didn't look up for the longest time, and when he finally did Zahra had already looked away, unsure of what to make of Sethe's admission, but knowing that it hadn't been easy for him to say. He decided against looking in his mind and instead looked at his face, not wanting steal things from him that weren't his to have.

"Which one is yours?" Sethe snapped back into action happily and led Zahra to another wall, getting down on his knees to see it since it was so close to the ground.

"This one…right here." Sethe touched one of the squares and Zahra leaned over and peered down, trying to see in the dim firelight. It was a dragon, and Zahra looked at it and wondered how something that looked so terrible could be inside of Sethe.

"That couldn't be inside you…you're nothing like that." Zahra looked at Sethe and smiled, and Sethe stood up from the ground and walked towards the doorway.

"Oh, no? Don't you remember the day that we met? I'll bet that you wouldn't have disagreed then." He grinned at Zahra as they walked out of the room, and Zahra paused at the edge of the roof, sitting down on the edge and swinging his legs over the side.

"Oh…you're right. You _were_ terrible…but you're not anymore. Or maybe you are, and I just can't see it." He turned back to see where Sethe was and found him standing only a foot or so away and watching him from above. "Sit down."

"But we're done here." Sethe seemed confused, and Zahra decided it was time for Sethe to take a few minutes off.

"So? We never just relax…come on, Sethe, there's nothing to do in the temple…let's just sit here for awhile. It's nice out, now that the sun is gone." Sethe took a step forward, paused, and then sat down cautiously, keeping his legs on solid ground.

"Don't sit so close to the edge." Sethe crossed his legs and sat, glaring at Zahra until he scooted back from the edge a bit, and Zahra moved until he was sitting alongside Sethe. The sky was even darker than it had been when they first arrived, and all of the stars were even brighter now and Zahra looked up at them for the longest time, wishing that Makiah could have seen the way that they looked from up here. Zahra's chest tightened just for a second, but then he relaxed, thinking of Sethe and glad that he was able to look at them with him, just the same. Makiah was gone, but Zahra wasn't, and it was enough to remember him when it really mattered.

I wonder what might have happened to me if Makiah had never died. I would never wish him gone, and I'll always want him back…but if he had never died, would I have met Sethe? Probably not. Its because of Makiah, that I was able to come here and live with him. I just wish that things could have worked out easier…its still so hard, every single day. But Sethe…

Zahra glanced over at Sethe, expecting to find him looking up at the sky and finding him staring directly at Zahra instead, and as soon as he was caught he blinked but he didn't look away.

"Bored?" Perhaps Sethe wasn't interested in relaxing. "If you really want to leave, we can. I just like it up here."

"It's fine…I don't mind." Zahra gave Sethe a smile from the corner of his lips and then let his head fall back until he was lying on the stone, looking up at the sky and Sethe at the same time. Sethe looked at Zahra for a few seconds, then looked up at the sky, then all around him, and Zahra giggled at his obvious lack of interest in the situation.

"You look like you're dying to get out of here." Zahra spoke between his laughing, and Sethe looked down and frowned at him.

"I'm not…I'm just not sure what you find so interesting out here."

"It's the night…I always liked it better in the night…and yet I'm afraid of the dark. Isn't that strange?" Zahra laughed quietly and waited for Sethe to respond. Sethe looked at Zahra pensively and thought quietly, and Zahra sighed exaggeratedly and pushed on Sethe' shoulder lightly.

"You're not supposed to try and figure it out. You're supposed to laugh, or something."

"Oh…sorry." Zahra laughed ever louder at Sethe, and then quieted down a bit and looked at him seriously.

"Hey…let's not be Shemsu-Suti right now. Alright?"

"Why not?"

"Because…it's night now, and the sun is gone. There's nothing to hide from. So let's not hide anymore."

"What shall we be, then?"

Zahra thought for a moment. "You can be Sethe, and I'll be Zahra."

Sethe grinned. "Just Sethe?"

"Of course…it's Sethe that I like so much." Zahra watched Sethe's face in the starlight and although it was dark and so was Sethe, the skin on his face paled slightly, and his eyes widened just a bit. "I mean…the Kher Heb is nice, and I like the cousin of the Pharaoh. But…the one that I like the most is Just Sethe. Because I don't think that anyone but me gets to see him."

Sethe blinked rapidly and continued to stare wordlessly at Zahra, and Zahra sat up and moved himself over a bit until he sat just in front of Sethe, and he leaned back again and laid his head on Sethe's crossed ankles. He watched the stars quietly, listening to the far off sounds of the people in the city and wondered why he'd just done that, laid on Sethe like that without even thinking about it. His heart beat in an awful way, and he tried not to think about it and relaxed, feeling nothing but silent acceptance from Sethe and knowing that he'd done the exact thing he had wanted to do the moment he wanted to do it. And it was alright.

"Anyway…" Zahra continued shakily, "It's okay, you know, to only be Sethe. I'll only be Zahra."

He left it at that, and after a minute or so of curious silence Sethe spoke, and Zahra realized that it had been long since he'd last spoken. "That's perfect…because Zahra is the one that I like."

Zahra smiled and looked up at the sky. "Then it's settled. Just for this night, neither one of us is special in any way. So there isn't anything to worry about. Not until the sun comes up." Sethe said nothing, but his head was just above Zahra's and Zahra watched him as he looked up at the stars as well, and no one said or did anything for the longest time. Zahra thought of a thing, a silly thing, really, but it was worth it, just hear what Sethe might say in return, and wanting to hear his voice was a thought that rose in his mind more often these days.

"What if…what if the sun doesn't rise?" Sethe glanced down finally, and he wore a small smirk as he answered.

"Then we'll go on like this forever."

Sethe's smile looked funny upside down, and Zahra smiled back at him and felt fingers in his hair, but he didn't move or say anything and instead he watched as Sethe carefully sifted through his bangs and played idly with the streaks of henna. "I like this…what you did."

"…I know. You only told me about a thousand times." Zahra laughed under his breath, but Sethe's face never moved, and he continued to stare downwards, his eyes blurry and unfocused. "But…thanks." Sethe let his hand fall still on Zahra's forehead, and then after a few comfortable minutes he sat upright and stretched his arms above his head.

"We should go back. We have to get up early." He placed his hands under Zahra's head and slipped his legs out from underneath him, standing up on his feet. Zahra watched him, not too terribly anxious to go back to the temple, but Sethe came to stand beside him and held out his hands, and Zahra took them both and let Sethe pull him up to his feet. Sethe released his left hand but Zahra didn't try to let go of Sethe's right, and since Sethe had already begun to walk down the first step Zahra held on tight his hand, and Sethe did not let go, pulling Zahra down the staircase a bit faster so that he wouldn't be trailing behind as usual. Zahra stepped quickly and kept up with Sethe, and his hand felt strange but nice in his own, and he hoped that he wouldn't have to let go anytime soon. The two silently crept through the palace, which was now quiet and seemed to be empty, and Sethe pulled Zahra through the open doorway and into the temple.

The temple was almost always the same degree of darkness this deep inside, night or day, but it seemed somehow quieter to Zahra in the distant night, and he could hear the gold links of his anklets jangling as he walked into Sethe's bedroom. Sethe's hand suddenly slipped out of his own, and Zahra watched as Sethe immediately laid down on the side of the bed that he always laid on, and Zahra imitated him, wondering if he was finished speaking for the night. Sometimes Sethe would do that, it was rare but once in awhile he would withdraw suddenly and without warning, and while he would always answer Zahra if he spoke, he wouldn't offer up any sort of conversation and instead would either close his eyes and think or stare off at nothing silently. Sethe's eyes were closed, Zahra noticed as he laid down, and Zahra let him be, lying on his side so that he was facing Sethe and closing his eyes, finding that he was more tired than he had thought. It was late for him to be up, and the moment that his eyelids slipped shut he felt himself falling.

_

* * *

__Fire._

_He could smell it all around, and the feel of it was on his skin, and he frowned, wondering why it didn't hurt him to burn like that. His eyes were closed, but he couldn't open them, and instead he breathed in deep and felt his lungs fill with thick smoke, and he paused and thought about that and thought about why it didn't make him cough at all. The fiery heat was everywhere on his skin but it never ate away at him, and instead it was still and silent, and Zahra waited patiently for something at all to make sense, for his eyes to open, for something to pull him out, and finally something did come, although he couldn't see what it was. _

It forced his eyes open and it brought the heavy feeling of wakefulness to his mind, and as his eyelids slipped open he looked up at the ceiling and saw that it was the same one that he always saw, every morning. Blinking, he turned his head to the side and looked at Sethe, and here was the same Sethe, as well, and Zahra could tell from the feel of the night that the sun was still far from rising. It had been a dream. Zahra rubbed at his eyes and turned back over on his side and watched Sethe sleep, wondering why he hadn't been scared at such a terrible dream…what should have been a nightmare. He'd been burning…it had seemed. His eyes adjusted to the dim light and he stared, then sat up slightly and moved over on the bed until he was within a few inches of Sethe, who lay on his back and faced the ceiling, in a deep sleep.

Zahra lifted the hand that wasn't holding him up and touched Sethe's forehead, and the heavy droplets of sweat that he swore he'd seen reflecting the firelight collected around his fingers and rolled down Sethe's temples, and Zahra's eyes grew wide. Sethe's skin was flushed and darker than ever, and the temperature that Zahra felt on his fingertips was far too warm for Sethe to be alright, and just then Sethe frowned slightly under Zahra's hand and took a shaky breath, but he didn't open his eyes.

_What's wrong with him…? I wonder if I should wake him up. But maybe he's sick? He wasn't acting like he was sick earlier…it might be a nightmare. _Zahra blinked, thinking of what had woken him up in the night and wondered if it was possible, for him to have seen Sethe's dream. _Maybe that's why I wasn't scared. _

Zahra, unsure of what to do and not wanting to wake Sethe up unless he absolutely had to, decided that he could try and see what Sethe was thinking, as he knew that he could do if Sethe had been awake. Zahra wasn't sure if it would work out the same way on someone who was asleep, but Zahra felt that he had to do something, and the way that Sethe looked only made Zahra rush his decision more. He closed his eyes and remembered the way that he had caught the answers to his questions in Sethe's mind, and he tried to do the same thing, only this time searching for the thing that Sethe dreamt of. Sethe was close, and Zahra only had to try for a few moments until whatever he was searching for found him first and tore him away, and Zahra could feel himself gasping and falling forward, but it was only far off in the distance.

_Fire._

_He could smell it all around, and the feel of it was on his skin, and he frowned, wondering why it didn't hurt him to burn like that. His eyes were closed, but he didn't open them, and instead he breathed in deep and felt his lungs fill with thick smoke, and he paused and thought about that and thought about why it didn't make him cough at all. The fiery heat was everywhere on his skin but it never ate away at him, and he tried to open his eyelids and it worked, and he looked all around him and saw what Sethe saw, wherever he was. _

_He was outdoors, somewhere inside a city that must have been huge, because the streets were wide and from where he stood he could see that they stretched on for what seemed like miles, and the buildings and houses all around him were tall, and every one of them was aflame. It was that odd fire that he saw in the temples, and although it was blue in Zahra's sight, he knew that if he were not Shemsu-Suti, the fire that consumed every inch of everything around him would have been the purest gold to see. This wasn't ordinary fire. _

_His senses began functioning slowly, and now that he had his sight he realized that he could hear, as well, and he stepped back slowly and listened as the sound of the flames reached his insides, and Zahra trembled, not out of fear but from realization. _

This is Memphis.

_There were people scattering everywhere, and the sound of screaming and the smell of burning skin nearly overwhelmed the sound of the fires burning, but the flames won in the end and Zahra watched as a panic stricken girl about his age dashed recklessly out of an alleyway and ran directly through him, and Zahra didn't feel it at all as she passed. He turned around and watched silently, and she ran so quickly that Zahra felt that she might be able to make it out, but the building she was about to run by had been eaten almost entirely by the fire and the side of it fell out. The crackling and the shouts that surrounded Zahra drowned out the sound of her body being crushed, and he began walking through the city, desperately trying to keep his eyes low and his attention away from everyone. More than anything, all he wanted to do was scream himself and run, just as they were, but he felt the heat and yet he didn't and he knew that he was fine and they were not, and he wanted to find Sethe. _

No one here is going to make it out…there isn't any way. But Sethe was here…I saw it on his skin. I have to find him. I have to find out what happened here. This fire is blue…and that scares me. What if that ceremony was correct…? Suti was accused of destroying Memphis…but would he? _Zahra sighed and looked up at the sky and saw nothing but a sapphire blaze. _I can't even tell if it's night or day. This…this can't have happened. Is this a memory, or a nightmare? But it feels so real… _Zahra closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands, trying to drown out the sound of the dying all around him, and he tried to remember just what it was that Isis had recited in that ceremony. Perhaps it was the pain of hearing the words that left their scar over his mind, but he remembered clearly. _

"The One who conceived the Lord of Red,

The creature of destruction and chaos,

Who destroyed the sacred city of Memphis,

He is banished to the Red Lands."

"_You aren't running, either." Zahra jumped and uncovered his face, looking for the voice that had spoken to him and finding the owner before him, close enough to touch. _

"_Sethe…" Zahra reached out and touched his hair, he knew that it was Sethe, but he looked only as old as nine or ten. Sethe's eyes were glazed, and he watched Zahra warily as he reached out, but he didn't try to move away. He was shaking slightly, and Zahra saw that he was in a strange sort of calm shock, his eyes covered with tears of disbelief. _

"_Aren't you going to run? You'll die, if stay." Sethe's voice was perfectly audible, and Zahra thought that was strange but he couldn't stop to think, and instead he stepped forward and smiled grimly at Sethe._

"_I don't need to run. Why aren't you running? Aren't you afraid to die?"_

_Sethe shook his head, and looked off into the distance. "I don't think I can die. There's something wrong with me. I won't burn like everyone else. Look…" Sethe took Zahra's hand and led him over to the closest tree, which burned from the roots all the way up to the highest branch. Sethe stared at the fire fearlessly and stuck his arm right into the blaze, and Zahra reached out to grab him and pull his arm away but stopped suddenly. The flames split and parted right where Sethe's arm was, and Zahra took a step back and watched in shock as Sethe's arm remained perfectly unscathed. Sethe glanced up at Zahra and took his arm away from the flame, letting it fall back to his side and speaking to Zahra in a level, unfeeling tone, but his eyes were torn and filled with horror. _

"_I tried to show my parents how, but they couldn't do it. They burned." One single tear fell from the corner of his eye, and Zahra fell to his knees and pulled Sethe against his chest, not knowing what else to do. Sethe's body stiffened slightly at first, but then he relaxed and wrapped his arms around Zahra's neck. Zahra held on to him tightly and tried to stop his mind from racing as fast as it did, but he knew that this was nothing but a memory, and he couldn't change a thing. _

I don't understand…why is it that Sethe was able to escape? Was he the only one?

_Zahra pulled Sethe from his chest and looked into his face. "How did this happen? Why is everything burning?"_

_Sethe shook his head and stared at the ground. "It's too late…he's already gone."_

"_Who?"_

_Sethe tore his eyes from the ground and gazed at Zahra evenly. "The Lord of Red."_

"The One who conceived the Lord of Red,

The creature of destruction and chaos,

Who destroyed the sacred city of Memphis…"

No… _Zahra stood up and looked at Sethe, not really seeing him but looking right through him. He wasn't entirely sure who or what the Lord of Red truly was, but if it really was a creature of Suti's, then that would mean that…Suti _was _responsible for this. _And he spared Sethe…

"_Who is the Lord of Red?" Zahra grabbed Sethe's hand again and held onto it tightly, and Sethe gripped back._

"_A dragon…I saw him in my dream tonight. I dreamt that he came and destroyed Memphis…and when I woke up, everything was on fire, and everyone was running…I don't know why I know his name…but as soon as I saw him, I knew."_

_Zahra looked all around him, watching as the fire burned away at the last of everything, and he wanted to get Sethe as far away from this as possible. "Let's leave the city. Which way do we go?" Sethe turned around and pointed behind him, and Zahra held on to Sethe's hand tightly and led him in that direction. Someone ran right in front of them and nearly knocked into Sethe, but Zahra pulled him over and continued to lead him quickly out of the city._

"_Don't look around you…just keep your eyes on the road." Sethe nodded and his head fell forward, and Zahra looked far ahead and saw that the end of the city was near, but the flames were so thick in the direction that they were walking that Zahra knew that no one except Sethe and himself would be able to walk out. It was impossible for anyone to escape alive, and Zahra knew that it was no coincidence. _

But for what? And why Sethe? Is it because he's Shemsu-Suti? _Zahra glanced down and watched Sethe for a moment, who kept his eyes faithfully on the sand under his feet and looked up for nothing. _It must be…there isn't anything else to explain it.

"_Where will you go now?" Sethe looked up at Zahra and thought carefully._

"_I don't know…everyone I know is dying. But…I could go and see my cousin. He doesn't live very far from here, and I know the way. He lives in Heliopolis."_

"_Heliopolis _is_ far…you would have to cross the Nile. Can you make it alone?"_

_Sethe nodded silently and cast his eyes back to the ground. "You won't come with me?"_

_It broke Zahra's heart to say so, but he couldn't do it. "No…I'm sorry. I don't belong here. But you know what?" Sethe met Zahra's eyes and Zahra smiled at him and squeezed his hand. "I promise that you will make it there." Sethe smiled and tilted his head to the side._

"_Promise?"_

_Zahra nodded. "Nothing can stop you. You're so strong inside…"_

_The end of the city was near, only steps away, and Zahra knew it was the end because there was no path left through the fire, and he wanted to pause but Sethe kept walking and pulled Zahra by his hand through the flames and out into the cold desert night on the other side. Sethe let go of Zahra's hand and continued to walk, and Zahra stood still and watched him go. He closed his eyes and pulled deep within himself, wanting to leave but not knowing how. Something cold against the skin of his chest made him open his eyes and reach down his collar, and he pulled out the necklace that Sethe had strung the hematite to, and he held the stone in his hand and spoke, just as he had before, in that dream of the Red Lands._

"_Take me back."_

Zahra's eyes opened and he felt something warm underneath him, and he raised his head slightly and looked into spanning blue, and realized that Sethe was awake and Zahra had fallen asleep on top of him. It wasn't that it was uncomfortable, but it shocked Zahra to find Sethe so close and he tried to sit up immediately but found that Sethe had his arms on his waist and he held him down. Zahra paused, unsure of what to do, but Sethe only pulled him down and whispered in his ear.

"Stop…just go back to sleep."

Zahra stopped struggling and looked at Sethe, whose face was calm and tired, and Zahra did what he asked and laid his head down on Sethe's shoulder and closed his eyes, wondering if he would be able to sleep like that. He was so tired…but that dream. He wondered if Sethe knew that he was there, but he didn't think that there was any way that Sethe _couldn't _have known that he was there. He'd spent nearly the entire dream with Sethe. But as Zahra laid there on him and waited for him to speak, he realized that perhaps Sethe wasn't going to say anything about what he'd done, and Zahra let his breathing slow and listened as Sethe's did the same, and wondered why it was that he could do this and not feel uncomfortable. His arms were pulled tightly to his chest, but he let one of them reach out and fall lazily over Sethe's stomach, and Sethe turned his head and pressed his forehead against Zahra's lightly.

"Why did you follow me into my dream?" Zahra could feel Sethe's breath on his face, and he had think again to understand what he was saying, feeling distracted by that realization. Then he understood, but Sethe didn't sound mad, he was whispering and only seemed to want to know.

"I was worried about you…you looked so scared, and it made me scared." It was the truth, and Zahra stared at Sethe's eyes as he spoke, unable to focus on anything else. Sethe closed his eyes and smiled, and Zahra thought that it was an odd thing to do, but he didn't say so and closed his own eyes, relaxing further against Sethe and letting the dark wash over him finally. With Sethe so close by, there wasn't much left for Zahra to fear.

* * *

AN: They fall in love awfully slowly, don't they? But...it's just...so cute! I was reading through this before I posted it and I was like, squeaking. But it's sad, too, it's many things... Well...you must like it, if you've read it this far. This story sure is long. And complicated. Review, and tell me you love me and you wish to get married. I want to get married. 


	8. Ana Bahebek

Asylum

By Katsuya Kaiba

AN: Just...tell me how it makes you feel. That's all I want to know.

* * *

Sethe peered at the page that Zahra was showing him. "Well…you're getting better. And it looks like you've memorized their meanings. Do you want to start writing some words?" Zahra nodded and smiled, glad that his constant efforts weren't entirely fruitless. He'd been practicing his writing nearly every day for almost two months now, and that was only trying to make his symbols recognizable. Zahra had memorized their meanings long ago, and now that Sethe evidently thought his penmanship improved enough, he was finally going to be able to use what he'd learned. 

"Show me how to write my name." Zahra had a vague idea of which symbols that he would need to use, but Sethe hadn't ever taught him how to place them or which ones went where, not to mention where the determinative fit into the mix. Sethe smirked lightly and moved his chair over so that the legs of their chairs were touching, and he took the reed and the paper from Zahra and placed the page on the tabletop between them. Zahra watched as Sethe grinned to himself and frowned, wondering what he thought was so funny about his request.

Come to think of it…this is exactly how he reacted the last time I mentioned my name, when Isis asked me what it was. I told her and he laughed…

"What are you smiling about?" Zahra demanded, and Sethe didn't meet his gaze and instead dipped the reed tip into the ink.

"Nothing…here, first you take this symbol and you-"

"No, tell me. Every time I talk about my name you laugh, and I want to know why." Zahra wasn't angry, but he was a bit irritated that Sethe thought _that _was funny, too, his mentioning of the situation, and he grabbed the reed from Sethe's hand and held it away.

"It isn't anything, really. Here, give me that." Sethe reached out to take the reed back, but Zahra held it too far from his hand and Sethe sat back, knowing from the look on Zahra's face that he had lost. "It's just that…Zahra is a girl's name."

Zahra scoffed. "No, it isn't!"

"It sure is. See…look. The determinative in that name is a woman. It has to be…no other symbols make that sound." Zahra scanned through the different determinatives on his sheet and sure enough, Sethe was right. Zahra was horrified at first, but then he got angry as Sethe began laughing once again.

"It's not my fault." Zahra crossed his arms and slumped down in his chair. "What were my parents thinking?"

"Your parents didn't know how to read. That's all it is…and it doesn't even make much difference, not unless you're writing it out."

"Then why do you think it's so funny?"

"Because it is." Zahra scowled, half angry and half something undetermined, and he unhappily stuck the reed at Sethe. "Here…watch. I'll write it out first with you watching, and then you can try it on your own." Zahra forgot about his irritation and watched as Sethe spelled out his name, leaning over and resting his head against Sethe's arm as he watched. Sethe didn't respond, for Zahra did it often, and he was used to it but he spoke as he drew.

"You aren't really angry, are you?" His voice was much quieter than it had been moments ago, and to Zahra it sounded almost hesitant.

"No…" Zahra looked up at Sethe without moving his head and grinned widely. He wasn't, not really. It was too hard to be angry with Sethe for more than a few moments. Zahra was distracted suddenly by an odd feeling that pulled his attention elsewhere, and he looked up and saw Isis standing in the doorway to the library, watching Zahra and Sethe with an unreadable expression. Zahra sat up quickly, and Sethe looked over at him to see what had chased him away, but he saw what Zahra was looking at and his eyes narrowed immediately.

"What?" Sethe's voice was low but it wasn't at all quiet, and Zahra had nearly forgotten the way that he sounded when he spoke that way. Sethe never used that tone with Zahra, and it had been awhile since they had seen anyone besides one another inside the temple. The feel of Sethe beside him changed as well, and the way that Zahra could hear him silently wasn't nearly as receptive as he had been moments ago. Zahra settled for a passive look, not wanting to make any enemies, but not entirely comfortable with Isis in the room, either.

"I'm not here to see you, Sethe, so don't bother. I want to speak with Zahra."

Zahra blinked nervously at her, and then looked over at Sethe to see what he would say. Zahra hadn't any idea of what she might need to talk to him about, but he didn't really want to, and he hoped that Sethe might be able to chase her away for him.

"What could you possibly have to say to him?"

She stepped into the room and moved towards the table, pausing when she was within a few feet of the two. "Sethe, I have to speak with Zahra…not you. What I have to say to him is none of your concern." Her tone was harsh, but Zahra closed his eyes and nearly groaned out loud at her words, knowing _exactly_ what sort of reaction that Sethe would have to what she had said. He braced himself just in time as a flood of rage came from beside him, and Sethe stood up in his chair. Zahra wondered if it really was worth it to wear the eye _all_ of the time.

"None of _my _concern? You forget your place. This is _my_ temple, and I want you out of it."

"I'll leave just as soon as I speak with Zahra…_alone," _she added pointedly. Zahra watched her as she spoke to Sethe, defiant and unafraid, and he began to wonder about just what it was that she wanted from him. Evidently she didn't think that he would tell Sethe what she was going to say, and she was mistaken. Perhaps Zahra could do something for Sethe, after all.

"Isis, if you don't walk out that-"

"Sethe…" Zahra stood up and turned to face him, and he paused and glanced down quickly, still looking angry as ever, but Zahra knew it wasn't for him. "It's alright."

Sethe blinked, then frowned and spoke, sounding both angry and confused. "What?" Zahra smiled softly and grabbed on Sethe's sleeve, trying to pull him towards the doorway. Sethe wouldn't move, but he calmed down a bit and lowered his voice. "I'm not leaving."

"Yes, you are…" Zahra pulled harder and Sethe watched him evenly, knowing that Zahra's strength wasn't even one tenth of his own. "Come on, Sethe…please?" Zahra turned his eyebrows upward and pleaded with his eyes, and Sethe instantly began to crack, not moving but changing his tone from confused to sullen acceptance.

"But why?" Zahra glanced over at Isis and smiled brightly, knowing that she would hear what he was about to say and not wanting her to think that he meant it. He did…but she didn't have to know.

"Because she won't leave until I talk to her. So I'm going to talk to her. Don't worry…just go." Sethe stared at Zahra as he was led begrudgingly out of the room and into the hallway, and Zahra leaned in and gave Sethe a quick hug. Sethe dazedly returned it, wondering how he'd been tricked into leaving, but Zahra only smiled and gave him a push down the hallway.

"Just wait for me in your room. Okay?" Zahra waved and then disappeared back into the library. He hung by the door for awhile until he was sure that Sethe was gone, and then he turned back to Isis and smiled at her, sitting back down in his chair. She came and sat across from him and placed her hands on the tabletop. She didn't say anything at first, and Zahra watched her anxiously, still feeling a bit nervous about what she might have to say to him, but he tried to look relaxed and he sat back against the chair, flipping a few strands of hair around his fingertips.

"Zahra…thanks for helping me with Sethe." Isis gazed at Zahra deeply and Zahra grinned and nodded. "He listens to you…doesn't he?"

Zahra wasn't sure how to answer that. What did she mean by it? "He…he does listen to me…I think. Why?"

Isis shook her head. "Just an observation. I know I'm not around the temple very much, but it's better that way. It's not something that I wish to see, not since it was given to Sethe."

"Why?" She sounded regretful, and Zahra was curious. He felt something from her that wasn't exactly malicious, but it wasn't too friendly either. It was a feeling of…betrayal, perhaps. She watched Zahra with a close eye, and Zahra pulled back into himself, hoping that she hadn't somehow felt him listen like that.

"I'm sure that you know what he is…right?" Zahra nodded, knowing what she meant but also realizing that she still had not seen that Zahra himself was the same thing. "It's ridiculous…for someone like him to live here, and to put him in charge of the shrine, well…that is just plain foolishness."

"Sethe does what he's supposed to do…and he always does a good job." Zahra kept his tone even and plain, trying not to sound as though he was contradicting her. He didn't like anything about her, but more than anything he didn't want to make any more messes, and if Isis were upset with him, it would just be one more thing for Sethe to have to deal with.

"That's not what I mean…I'm sure that he does." She looked at him oddly for a moment, as though she meant to say something more, but then she dropped her eyes and changed the subject entirely.

"So…I hope that Sethe is treating you well. It certainly looks that way…" She grinned at him humorously and reached out, tugging on his bracelet teasingly. Zahra smiled brightly back, always cheerful when he was asked about his jewelry, and he fingered one of the bracelets as he spoke.

"He's fine…he gave me these for my birthday…see?" He pointed under the table and showed off his anklets, and she bent over and looked as he lifted his leg slightly. "I didn't even ask him for anything, he just brought them back. He got them during the Akhet." Zahra felt much more comfortable than he had felt earlier, and he forgot about his previous anxiety. "And he brought me henna, and indigo…but look, I have to put more in my hair. I can't believe it's already been…how long has it been since the Akhet? A month and a half? Maybe more…" He caught himself and realized that he was most likely going on about it for too long, and he laid his hands face down on the table and silenced himself. He was used to being able to babble on however long he wanted to, and Sethe would usually nod at all the correct intervals. But Isis only watched him closely as he spoke, and he remembered that this was not Sethe, and that he should probably keep quiet and hear what she had come to say.

"Yes, I remember…he never spoke to me directly, but I overheard a good deal of his conversations with the Pharaoh. You were all that he wished to speak of." Zahra looked at the tabletop, unsure of what to say, but feeling warm inside for the idea. "It seems that he thinks much of you." Isis spoke with her eyes on Zahra's, and Zahra stared back uncertainly. What was she saying?

"He's…he…what?"

Isis folded her fingers together on the table and stared hard. "I came here today because of what I saw when I looked into your future. Much of what I saw, I did not understand, but what I came to tell you today I am sure of, even more so now that time has passed. But things are different than they were months ago."

"Different how?"

Isis sat back in her chair slightly. "Zahra…how much longer do you think you'll be staying here?"

Zahra froze, not at all expecting a question like that one. "I…thought it was for…always."

Isis shook her head. "Not if Sethe keeps causing problems like he did in the Ceremony of Justification. The Pharaoh hasn't said a word, but I know that he's thinking twice about his decision to let Sethe have the temple when he took the throne. And since you belong to Sethe…technically…when the Pharaoh throws him out, you'll go right along with him."

"But…the Pharaoh wouldn't do that…would he?" Zahra was honestly scared at that point, knowing that if what Isis spoke of was true, than it would really be _his _fault and not Sethe's.

"The Pharaoh should do it, but whether he will or not remains to be seen. That's why I'm warning you now. If he loses his position, he'll have nowhere left to go but the Red Lands…which is where he belongs in the first place. Is that where you want to end up?"

"Well, I…I don't know." Zahra began to wish that he had never asked Sethe to leave. She had somehow gotten him tangled up in her words, and he was frightened of what she was saying, but at the same time he wasn't sure if he should even listen to her or not. "I suppose not." What could he say? He had to play as though he weren't Shemsu-Suti. If she were to find out, there was no telling what might happen to him or Sethe, and he made up his mind to stay strong and pretend as though he was what she was. He still wasn't quite sure what she was after.

"Zahra…I want to help you. I know how much you like it here, and I want you to stay. I hear that you've been a great help to Sethe in the shrine, and I'll need someone like you if I ever have to take over this temple. If you want…I can arrange it so that if Sethe ever has to leave, for whatever reason, you'll be able to stay here with me."

He stared at her, unable to look anything but shocked at her proposal. _Someone like me…she really doesn't know. Is she doing this because she really wants to help me, or is she just trying to hurt Sethe more? Oh…what should I say? I can't let her find out._

"I…" Zahra swallowed and tried again, staring at his hands so that she couldn't see the alarm in his eyes. "I…don't know. Let me think about it…please." Zahra looked up and smiled as best he could, and she smiled back, and it didn't look as though she suspected anything was wrong.

"Then think about it, and let me know your decision when you come to it." She pushed herself up from her seat and walked towards the door. Zahra watched her go, waiting until she was gone to stand up, but she turned to him and gave him a strange look, and she spoke once more just as she was walking out the door.

"I know that you plan to tell him everything I've said today…but I know you won't tell him this. Sethe is in love with you…I saw it in your future and I saw it in him today. But don't base your decision on that…not unless you want him to pull you down along with him. There isn't any future for someone like that. Not in Egypt." She was gone.

Zahra sat in silence for a very long time, or for what seemed like a long time to him. He picked at his nails absentmindedly, knowing that eventually he would have to get up and go to see Sethe, and he would have to tell him what Isis had said. But Isis had been right…and Zahra was not going to tell him the last thing that she had said. He was angry with her now, for telling him something that she should have left to Sethe to say on his own.

I knew that…I've known it for a long time. I only wanted him to tell me for himself…and I certainly didn't want to hear it from her. But she is right about one thing…even if she doesn't know it herself. What happened at that ceremony only made things worse for Sethe…and it's my fault, not his. There isn't any way to be sure that it won't happen again. Even if it's next year's ceremony, it will happen eventually. And he'll take the blame, no doubt…or at least he'll hide the fact that I'm being blamed for something. He'll do anything at all, if it means that I don't have to suffer. I…I see it. It's written all over his face. There wasn't any way for him to hide it from me, and I couldn't help but look. It's just what I wanted to see.

Zahra made his way slowly to the bedroom and found Sethe pacing madly, noting quietly that he had thought of it as 'the' bedroom and not 'his' bedroom, and it felt familiar in his mind. He wondered how long ago that had set in.

"That took forever. What did she say to you? Did you let her use that necklace on you?" Zahra shook his head, and went to sit on the bed. He wasn't sure exactly how he wanted to tell Sethe about Isis's idea, but he knew that no matter how he presented the matter, Sethe wasn't going to like it. Not one bit. Sethe didn't come to sit on the bed and instead stood in front of Zahra impatiently.

"Don't ever let her into your mind like that…you couldn't help it before, but don't let her do it again." Sethe still sounded angry, but Zahra ignored it and wondered why Sethe had said that first thing.

"Why not?"

"There isn't any way to know which future she's looking for. I wouldn't ever let anyone into my mind…especially Isis." Sethe finally sat down on the bed next to Zahra and laid his hands on his lap.

"You let me into yours…when you had that dream."

"That…is completely different."

Zahra thought quietly, and decided to change the subject. "She told me that she thinks the Pharaoh might force you to leave." He bit his bottom lip and waited for the outburst that he thought was coming, but Sethe only exploded into disdainful laughter. Zahra glanced up quickly and saw that Sethe honestly did not believe her claim.

"That's ridiculous. She's only trying to use you to scare me. Is that all?"

"No…she asked me…she told me that…if you leave, I would have to go with you. But she said that if I wanted to stay with her, she would keep me…but she didn't say how. She said that she would arrange for it." Sethe's eyes widened slightly, and then narrowed even further. He looked down to the ground and was silent for a few moments, and when he spoke again his voice was much quieter.

"What did you tell her?"

"I…I didn't want her to think that I was like you, but I didn't want to tell her yes. I said that I would think about it."

Sethe nodded slightly, but then he blinked and glanced up at Zahra suddenly, as though he had just thought of something. "What else did she say?" Sethe stared directly at Zahra, and Zahra looked at Sethe evenly, glad that Sethe couldn't see in him the way he could see in Sethe.

"Nothing…she said that you would be sent to the Red Lands, if you were sent away."

Sethe scoffed at that. "I wonder if there's any truth to that. But it doesn't matter…it doesn't matter what she's trying to take from me. She won't have any of it." He set his face solidly and looked back up at Zahra. "Do you still feel like writing?"

"Mmm…I don't know. We've still got hours left before we have to seal the shrine, and I don't want to spend the entire day in the library." Zahra fell back against the bed and stared up at the ceiling, thinking about the last thing that Isis had said to him. "No…let's just stay here for a minute."

"And do what?"

Zahra looked over at Sethe and winced, wondering just how he was able to be so motivated, then rolled over onto his side. "We don't always have to be doing something. We could do nothing."

"But…there's so much that I need to do." Sethe looked at Zahra worriedly, knowing that Zahra would have his way in the end and Sethe would be forced to go along with whatever it was. Zahra reached out and pulled on Sethe's arm, and Sethe followed his direction and fell down on his side, lying on the bed and facing Zahra. They lay side by side for a few moments in silence before Zahra spoke again.

"It will be there tomorrow. Everything that you need to do will always need to be done. So just stop, just for a moment. Please…?" Zahra held his gaze with Sethe and Sethe nodded slightly in agreement. Sethe had fallen just beside Zahra, and there wasn't much space between the two of them.

"I still haven't found that story…the one I told you about. And I still can't remember what it was about. It was just…there was something about you that made me remember it, after all this time." Zahra smiled quietly and moved his hand a bit, resting his fingers in Sethe's dusty bangs and brushing them out of his eyes. Sethe's bangs were longer than they had been when Zahra had first come to the temple, and now they hung just slightly past his nose. Now that his hair was out of the way Zahra could clearly see the blue in his eyes, and he stared for a moment, thinking about the fire.

We never talked about it…his dream, or what happened to him. He knows that I was there, watching him…so I thought that he would bring it up when he was ready. But it's been weeks, and still nothing. I still won't say anything. Maybe he won't ever want to talk about it. I'm just glad that he wasn't angry…although I can't remember a time that Sethe was every angry with me…ever since he knew that I was Shemsu-Suti. I'm done…maybe it's just the way that she said it…or maybe it's just that I've never heard it spoken…but I don't want to go on like this.

Zahra closed his eyes and took the shakiest of breaths, and it didn't even help. "Sethe…?"

"Hmm?"

Zahra's lids slid open and he pinned Sethe's blue eyes with his own. "If I wasn't Shemsu-Suti, would you still love me?"

Nothing at all moved or changed on Sethe's face, and Zahra was worried that perhaps he'd said the wrong thing, but it couldn't have been the wrong thing because it was exactly what he needed to know. Sethe seemed frozen in place, but then something moved behind his eyes and they closed slowly.

"…Yes."

Zahra smiled, feeling everything as it should have been, everything the way he meant for it to be. As it had been, only infinitely better. He sat up on the bed, feeling as though he needed to move or do something to alleviate the nervousness that he could feel, both from himself and from Sethe, and he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and watched as Sethe sat up as well. They were still facing one another, and Sethe had a tired and despondent look to his face as he leaned in slowly, looking almost lost. Zahra didn't move or speak and simply sat there, watching and waiting. Sethe paused, his lips only an inch or so from Zahra's face, and he whispered something that only Zahra could hear, and Zahra wasn't sure but he thought that perhaps Sethe had only thought the thing, but there wasn't anyway to tell, and Zahra didn't care how he heard it, only that he did.

"Ana bahebek, hereret."

Sethe's lips touched lightly on Zahra's, and in that second Zahra felt dizzy, seeing and hearing and sensing a sudden rush of a thousand things. He closed his eyes but they were still there, and he leaned in closer to Sethe and pressed his lips deeper into the kiss, hoping that it was what Sethe wanted him to do, because it was what he wanted to do and had to do, all at once. He didn't try to stop and think, never once wanting to do that, and instead he let Sethe kiss him silently and wondered why he hadn't long ago. He felt just the same.

Sethe pulled back just barely and Zahra opened his eyes, confused and hoping that Sethe was alright. Sethe's eyes were wide open and he had only moved back an inch or so, staring precariously at the gold in Zahra's eyes. Zahra moved once and then stopped, thinking in a strange and fleeting sort of way, but then he forgot about what it had been and kissed Sethe again, keeping his eyes open. Sethe blinked rapidly when Zahra kissed him, seemingly shocked, but then his eyes slid shut and he kissed back, moving his lips against Zahra's more confidently now that it had been Zahra who had kissed him first.

Zahra had kissed Sethe without thinking about it and without really knowing how as this was only his second kiss ever, the first one being the one that Sethe had just given him moments ago, and during the first few seconds in which Sethe did not respond he began to feel a little nervous. But when Sethe did answer, Zahra's apprehension fled quickly as Sethe pressed on his lips insistently with his own, and he stole every bit of control that Zahra had mistakenly tried to hold. Zahra let him have it as soon as he could, not wanting it in the first place. He had only wanted Sethe to kiss him again, but he wasn't sure how to ask. Zahra felt Sethe lift his hand, and then moments later he pressed it into the small of his back and Zahra leaned forward into Sethe, bringing his hands up and clutching distractedly at the fabric on Sethe's shoulders. Zahra tried to think about what he was doing but he couldn't, and the only thoughts in his mind were vague and unimportant and he lost interest in thinking and let Sethe kiss him instead.

Sethe broke away, but he didn't move back and he held Zahra in place as he leaned in past his face and whispered in his ear. "You knew." Zahra leaned further against Sethe and nodded carefully.

"How could I not? You wore it so plainly." Zahra's tone sounded nearly regretful, and he wished that he hadn't ever seen it on Sethe, but it wasn't Sethe's fault. And it wasn't Zahra's either. "I couldn't help but see it."

"Why did you wait?"

Zahra bit his lip and thought for a second, wondering the same thing himself. "I was afraid that it was because of what I was. And I thought that…that you would tell me, eventually, and that we were going to live here in the temple forever."

Sethe sat back and gave Zahra a suspicious look. "We are."

"But…what if I do something else that gets you in trouble? What if I actually hurt somebody, and they send me away?" Zahra was more afraid than he realized, and he held his breath and waited for Sethe to say something.

Sethe shook his head. "I wouldn't let that happen. This is because of what Isis said to you, isn't it?" Zahra only stared and Sethe sighed and took his hand off Zahra's back, bringing his arms forward and grabbing on to Zahra's hands. "Look…she was trying to scare you…and you know better than anyone what she's really like inside. Forget it…do you really think that I would let anything happen to you?" Zahra shook his head adamantly, and Sethe smiled and let go of one of his hands, lifting it up and brushing some of the hair away from Zahra's eyes and tucking some of the pieces behind Zahra's ears. Zahra watched Sethe's face as he did that and felt something grow heavier in his heart, but it wasn't at all a bad feeling. The way that it felt, for someone like Sethe to watch over him so carefully and to think of nothing but him, constantly, nearly made Zahra want to cry, and still it wasn't a feeling of sadness. Perhaps it was just overwhelming.

"No…there isn't anything to be afraid of." Zahra considered that for a moment. It wasn't totally true, at least not in his eyes, but he hesitated before he spoke, knowing what Sethe would say. Still, he hadn't ever said it, and he wanted to let it out.

"It isn't them that I'm afraid of…it's me." Sethe didn't say anything, and Zahra leaned forward and rested his head on Sethe's chest, not wanting to look at him as he spoke. "Remember what happened in that ceremony? I know it feels like it was forever ago…but I couldn't ever forget it. The way it felt…and I couldn't stop it. I didn't even know what it meant to do. All of it, whatever it was inside me, it acted on it's own. I can't control that."

Sethe brought his arms around Zahra's waist and held tightly. "I'm not afraid of you. And you're right…there wasn't anything that you could do. But that's why you're practicing Heka…so you can control it. And you're learning it so quickly…it's as though you only forgot how."

Zahra smiled and leaned back to look at Sethe. Maybe he really was worried so much over so little. "You know what I was thinking of yesterday? I remembered what you told me about Ba…I want to see mine." Sethe kept his face motionless and thought silently for a few seconds.

"…Maybe."

Zahra frowned, wondering what had changed Sethe's mind. He had seemed as though he wanted to see it months ago. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong…there's just a lot that you don't know about it. If you're unable to call it out on your own, I would have to draw it out."

"Is that bad?"

"It's not damaging, but it is traumatic. And it's very painful, or so I've been told. I was able to call mine out on my own."

"Oh…" Zahra thought about it for a moment, knowing that it was something that he really wanted to try. "But…then can you show me how to call it out?"

Sethe nodded. "It's a long process…but I can teach you. Not right now, though." He smiled thoughtfully and lifted Zahra's chin with his finger, leaning in and kissing him full. Zahra's eyelids flickered a bit and then closed, and he thought of the time and how it had passed, and how much different he was from long ago. He thought of Makiah briefly and smiled inwardly, and then he forgot again and lost himself in Sethe instead, knowing that Sethe was the one that he wouldn't be happy to only remember.

* * *

Zahra sat patiently in the chair that Sethe had placed in front of the empty table in the working room, watching as Sethe poured the water into the glass bowl that sat on the tabletop just before him. 

"Now…this only works if you possess Neter Maa, so only you and I can do this. Don't mention it to anyone else." Zahra nodded his head, and Sethe stood next to the table and crossed his arms, deep in thought. "I'm trying to think of how to explain this…you know how you can read things on people? You're going to be doing that here…only this water has no memories. So you can use it to see anything you want."

"Like the future?"

"Hmmm…I've never seen it before. It's not quite like that…it only shows you what exists in this moment, and water is especially receptive to the person looking into it. That's why you can always see your reflection whenever you look at it closely. But if you look deeper with your sight, you can see a deeper reflection." Zahra did, and he nodded as he placed his hands on the table, watching as the slight motion set ripples through the surface of the clear water.

"So…I'm looking for my Ba?"

"Yes…" Sethe stood behind Zahra and set his hands on the back of the chair. "If you know who it is, you're far more likely to know how to call it out on your own."

"Okay…I'm going to try." Zahra relaxed his shoulders and let his eyes fall onto the surface of the water, and he wondered why Sethe had chosen a glass bowl when he almost never used glass for anything, preferring metals and wood, but he let the thought go and all the others that tried to follow it. It didn't matter. Zahra's eyesight began to dull and he felt the familiar sensation of blurry clarity forming over his eyes, and he read the water just as he would anyone else's skin, but it was far different and not nearly as easy. People were easy to read, they exposed themselves without a second thought, but water seemed to be much more secretive.

Hmmm…this is harder than I expected. It's harder than everything else Sethe had me try. Or maybe I'm just getting lazy. Everything comes so easy…this is the first thing that I've had to actually concentrate this hard on in awhile…but I like it.

Zahra cut off his thoughts and focused, looking for his Ba in the glass and the water, and finding nothing but empty thoughts, thoughts of his own that he'd had moments before.

It's reflecting my own thoughts back at me…I have to stop.

Zahra waited for those thoughts to pass, and then he silenced his mind completely and let the quiet take him, searching patiently and thoughtlessly for an image, a reflection of himself that he hadn't ever seen before. The water rippled calmly off of the side of the bowl in a few spots, and Zahra frowned, wondering if he had unconsciously hit the table with his knee or something, but he brushed it off and waited for the ripples to fade away. He held steady for what seemed like far too long for ripples to disappear, but he knew that time passed strangely in places such as these, and he studied the water carefully.

The ripples are getting deeper…is something moving the table?

Zahra watched as the water in the bowl gradually began moving more, and the ripples grew into larger ripples that nearly ran over the side, and Zahra began to worry as he knew that nothing was moving the table at all, at least not to the extent that it would have to be moving to make the water act like that. It was as though the table were being dragged across the room. Some of the water splashed up and over the side of the bowl, running over the side and dripping onto the tabletop, and Zahra pulled his eyes away and glanced back at Sethe fearfully.

"Why is it doing that?" His tone was shaky and tense, but Sethe only gazed at him confusedly.

"Doing what?" Zahra gaped at him and pointed, turning around to look back at the bowl.

"It's-"

He held his breath, looking at the table and seeing that the water was as still as it could have been, and nothing at all broke the surface. Zahra reached out and touched the place on the table that he had seen the water drip down, but it was as dry as it had always been. It hadn't happened.

"It's…it was shaking…the water splashed up and it ran over the side…onto the table. I saw it…" Sethe shook his head and brushed back some of Zahra's hair.

"It wasn't…try again."

Zahra turned his attention back to the water warily, untrusting of it but willing to give it another try. He slipped easily back into his sight, and as soon as he was able he began to search for a reflection of his Ba once more. The instant that the very idea of Ba came into his head, the water began to shake and stir, and Zahra nearly pulled away again but reminded himself that it wasn't really happening, so perhaps it was supposed to do that..

Maybe I am doing it right, and this is just what it looks like in my mind. I saw for myself that the water wasn't even on the table…I should keep going.

Zahra pressed on and searched for his Ba, and when the water began to drip and run over the edge, he ignored it and searched even harder, applying himself in a way that he didn't normally have to do. The harder that he tried, the more that the water reacted, but he still looked further and tried to disregard the clattering sound that the glass was making against the table as it trembled as if under a great strain. Zahra began to doubt himself, but he decided quickly that he might just try to go a little bit further. Sethe was right behind him, and if anything happened, Sethe would know what to do. Reassured, Zahra sunk his sight directly into the water as best he could and submerged his thoughts as deep as he was able.

A number of things all happened in the same moment, but Zahra only heard them as they went, unable to see anything because of his immense concentration. In a far off sort of way he noticed that the bowl seemed to split apart suddenly, and he heard himself scream and his eyes shut instantly, and the reason that he screamed came through his ears in a loud and shattering burst. There was a sudden shock of cold in his lap and it ran down his legs, but the sound that pulled his attention away from everything and forced his eyes open again was the sound of Sethe gasping lightly, and before Zahra could even turn his head he knew that something was desperately wrong. He stood up immediately and flipped around, hearing the sound of dripping water and clinking glass as he moved, but he only heard it distantly and he brought his hand up to his mouth in horror as he saw what had happened…what he had done.

"Zahra, don't…calm down." Zahra couldn't even hear him, and he lifted his hand and reached out, but he wasn't close enough to touch Sethe. Sethe had his hand over his right eye and his other hand was poised in the air, and Zahra could see that Sethe was still in shock from what had happened. Zahra could already feel tears forming in his eyes, and he bit down on his lips to keep from screaming again, but it was all he could do to keep silent. He moved to take a step forward but Sethe moved faster and held him back. "Your feet, Zahra…there's glass everywhere."

Zahra stared, feeling utterly lost and not knowing the first thing to do for Sethe, and all the while knowing that it should have been him. Zahra felt nothing, there was no pain in him, and yet he had been so close. But Sethe… Zahra watched as a small trickle of blood escaped Sethe's fingers and ran down his cheek, and Zahra opened his mouth to scream again, too afraid and stunned and guilty to do anything else.

Sethe clamped a hand over his mouth and spoke quietly but forcefully, and Zahra listened. "Stop. Zahra, just listen to me." Sethe's voice was inexplicably calm, and it infected Zahra and he found that he no longer wanted to scream. Sethe uncovered his mouth and let his hand rest on the side of Zahra's face. "I need you to do something for me." Zahra nodded his head rapidly, not trusting his voice but badly needing to do something, anything that might fix what he'd broken. "Run to the palace and find Mahado. When you find him, tell him that he needs to come here right away, because there's been an accident. Will you do that?"

Zahra nodded once more and then tiptoed carefully around the glass on the floor, and as soon as he was in the hallway he took off running faster than he ever had before. The only time he recalled himself feeling this desperate was the time that he had run all the way to the temple from the city, searching for asylum. He begged his mind not to function, not to think, but instead of remaining still in shock it worked twice as quickly, and his thoughts were filled with hopelessness.

I've blinded him. I knew that something was wrong…but I didn't stop. I knew that I needed to…and now I've hurt him badly. What if…what if I really did blind him? Oh…it's my fault, it's my fault…I shouldn't have done that…I shouldn't have asked him to teach me…I should have mentioned the glass, or at least asked him why…I should have done it differently. I can't take this back…the Pharaoh was right, I am dangerous…and I did hurt someone, the one person that I swore I wouldn't ever...

"Mahado!" There he was, he wasn't far anymore, and Mahado looked up when Zahra yelled out his name, as did everyone else in the palace. "Mahado!" Zahra ran up to him and grabbed his arm, and Mahado gave him a worried look, and Zahra realized that his panic must have been written all over his face. "Mahado. Sethe needs you." Zahra glanced over at the priests, all of whom were looking at him rather strangely, but Mahado nodded his head and followed Zahra at a hurried pace, understanding that something was wrong. As soon as they had gone through the doorway that led to the temple, Zahra began to speak in a shrill tone, explaining what had happened to Mahado in a panic.

"It's his eye…he…he got glass in it, and it was my fault, it was an accident! But he's bleeding and said to go and get you, and he…" Mahado did not appear to be surprised, and if he was, he hid it well. He only nodded his head at Zahra and ran faster through the hall, and the two entered the room that Sethe waited in and found him sitting in Zahra's seat, looking at the ground with one eye and covering the other with his hand. He looked up when Mahado arrived and then stood up from his seat, and Mahado turned to face Zahra and pushed him slightly towards the doorway. Sethe spoke up when he saw what Mahado was doing.

"Zahra, wait for me in the bedroom." His tone was even and low, and Zahra thought that perhaps he shouldn't argue, but he still had no idea what was going on, and he was so worried about what he had done.

"But-"

"Zahra…please. Just go. There isn't anything you can do right now."

Zahra tried to blink back the tears that fell from his eyes and failed, and the moment that he was in the hallway they rolled down his cheeks and he nearly fell to the ground right there, if he hadn't thought that he might have been in the way if Sethe and Mahado needed to go somewhere. He made his way back to the bedroom and fell face first on the bed, crying loudly and miserably for Sethe, and for what he had done. And Sethe had been so patient and understanding, even when Zahra was sure that he must have been terrified, and in a lot of pain. He wondered why Sethe had asked for Mahado, but decided that it didn't matter. Maybe Mahado knew how to fix things like that. Zahra prayed that he could, really prayed, for the first time in such a long drought of belief, and he wasn't sure if it would help or not, but he was willing to try anything at that point. His clothes were still wet from the water that had spilled all over himself, but he couldn't bring himself to care and only cried harder, knowing that he'd broken something precious.

* * *


	9. The Lord of Red

Asylum

By Katsuya Kaiba

* * *

Sethe and Mahado were gone for hours, and by the time that Sethe returned it was time to seal the shrine, but Mahado took Zahra to close it instead of Sethe, who stayed in the bedroom to rest. Zahra was unnaturally quiet in the shrine and on the way back, feeling exhausted for no reason and far too preoccupied with Sethe to be of much use to Mahado, but he never mentioned it or seemed to notice. He said goodbye to Zahra in the hallway just before they reached the bedroom, and Zahra smiled at him weakly and waved before rushing inside to see if Sethe was still awake. Sethe didn't appear to be, his eyes were closed and he was lying on his back, and Zahra hesitantly approached the bed and sat on the edge, staring at Sethe and unsure of what to do next. He wouldn't be able to sleep until he was sure that Sethe was alright, but he didn't want to wake him up if he was asleep.

"Zahra?" Sethe opened his eyes briefly and then shut them quickly, hissing in pain, and Zahra watched him with wide eyes. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but the moment that he saw Sethe try to open his eyes and fail, he knew that it was real, and that it had happened for sure. He crawled over the bed and kneeled in front of Sethe and kissed him on the lips, and the moment that Sethe kissed him back the tears that he had been holding back while he was with Mahado fell from his eyes, but he didn't break the kiss. They ran down his face and one of them fell on Sethe's cheek, and he felt it and he pulled Zahra down on the bed next to him, and Zahra laid his head on Sethe's shoulder and cried silently.

"Zahra…please don't do this." Zahra only cried harder, and Sethe sighed in frustration and brought his hand up carefully, finding Zahra by the sound of his sobs and running his fingers through his hair. "I can't stand it when you're like this…stop."

Zahra pressed his face into Sethe's shoulder and swallowed his tears as best he could. "I'm sorry…"

"Why?"

"Because…because…" Zahra bit his lips and sobbed under his breath, but he got the words out after a moment. "Because now you're hurt, and it was all my fault. I couldn't do anything to stop it…just like before. It happened too fast, and I…please, please don't hate me. I never meant to hurt you…" Zahra trailed off and pushed his face harder against Sethe, willing away the tears that just wouldn't stop coming. "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing." Sethe spoke forcefully and just a bit louder than before, and his tone caught Zahra's attention and he lifted his head slightly and listened. "There isn't anything wrong with you, and this was not your fault. It's not as bad as you think."

Zahra lifted his arm and laid it across Sethe's stomach, clinging on tightly. "It isn't?"

"No…Mahado knows what he's doing, and he's an extremely skilled healer. It took him most of today, but he was able to take the glass out, and he sped the healing with a spell. A good one, from the way it feels now. It's just for the rest of the night…when I wake up I should be able to open them perfectly."

Zahra couldn't remember a time he'd felt so relieved in his entire life, and he smiled hopefully and spoke against Sethe's chest. "Then, you'll be alright?"

Sethe paused, and the aching fear crept back into Zahra's mind as he waited for Sethe to speak. "Its…it's too early to say. The wound is healed already. My eyes are just sensitive to the light right now. But my eyesight isn't something that Mahado or anyone else can fix…but I'm sure that everything is fine. We'll worry about that tomorrow."

Zahra didn't want to say it, but he felt that Sethe was only saying those things because he didn't want Zahra to worry, but Zahra felt something akin to dread inside of Sethe that he didn't mention, not wanting to hurt Sethe further. "Sethe…I…I don't think that I should practice Heka anymore. If something like this happened again…I wouldn't be able to stand it. I can't now…" He reached up and rubbed his eyes dry, feeling somewhat calmer than before, but still ever fearful of the coming dawn. "I'm too dangerous…and it's too risky."

"But you don't want that." Zahra said nothing, knowing that it was true and feeling greedy for even thinking it. He didn't want to give up Heka…it was something that he could do, and do well, and he was beginning to like it. But now…Zahra looked up quickly and saw Sethe, and then shook his head, making his decision.

"I don't want to hurt you. That's what I don't want. And look…this is twice now. And both times there wasn't a thing that I could have done. I don't know, Sethe…it felt like…when I was looking into the water…whenever I tried to look at my Ba, the water would start to act strangely. It was almost as if I wasn't supposed to know."

Sethe remained silent and listened to Zahra speak, and when he was finished he still said nothing, and instead his hand fell from Zahra's hair to his chin, and he pulled Zahra's face up slowly and kissed him deeply. Zahra let him do it, momentarily forgetting about what had happened and smiling against Sethe's lips, although the pulling feeling in his heart never subsided. He felt so guilty, for hurting Sethe, and for being unable to stop it. He was weak, and he knew it, and there wasn't a thing that he could do. It hadn't even been him that had done it, not truly. There was something else inside of him. He only wished that he knew who it was.

"We'll worry about that tomorrow," Sethe murmured against Zahra's lips, rolling over towards Zahra until Zahra lay flat on his back with Sethe above him. "I missed you today." He pressed his lips to Zahra's again, and Zahra placed his hands on Sethe's shoulders and pulled him closer, feeling just the same way. He was still worried, terribly so, but if Sethe didn't want him to then he could pretend that he wasn't.

* * *

Zahra awoke on his own, before Sethe had a chance to wake him up as he usually did, and when he opened his eyes he found Sethe sitting up beside him, silently staring at the sheets that he was still covered by from the waist down. His face was expressionless, but he didn't notice it when Zahra opened his eyes, and Zahra remained still for awhile and watched Sethe, immediately remembering what had happened the day before. His heart instantly filled with dread and anticipation as he watched Sethe quietly, clinging to his half-formed hopes for everything to turn out alright. It looked as though Sethe had just woken up, and Zahra wasn't sure what he himself had woken up for because it always took Sethe at least a few minutes to get him conscious each morning.

Maybe Sethe woke me up somehow. I know just how nervous he is…regardless of how he tries to act. But he isn't even moving…what does he see?

Sethe blinked a few times, and then he reached out with one hand and touched the sheets over his leg softly, and then he let his hand rest on the bed and he pushed his bangs to the side with his other hand, glancing over at Zahra. Zahra smiled brightly and sat up, and he was going to lean over and kiss Sethe when he saw something different and he was surprised into stillness. Sethe's eye didn't look the way that it had yesterday. His left eye was fine, just as it always had been, but his right eye was clearly the one that had sustained the injury. Most of it was just as blue as his other, and the only difference was in the lower half of his eye where the blue somehow distorted in a strange way. It was the same color, but it looked fractured, like shattered glass, and Zahra could see different dimensions of blue that ran throughout the original color, in pieces and fragments that haphazardly crossed against one another. It looked like that part of his eye ran much deeper than the rest, and Zahra caught himself staring and blinked, refocusing on Sethe's face.

"You can see it…" Sethe's tone held nothing in it, and he sounded almost as though he didn't care, but Zahra could see deeper into him that that. Sethe was acting strangely, and Zahra couldn't quite catch what it was but he could feel something stirring inside of Sethe, a suspicion that grew with each passing moment.

"…A little. But Sethe…" Zahra moved forward and wrapped his arms around his waist, pressing his cheek to Sethe's side. "It doesn't look bad."

Sethe didn't move or speak for a moment, keeping his eyes open and staring off at nothing. "…Something is wrong."

Zahra froze, and then he sat up and looked at Sethe, watching him as he stared at nothing. "What…what is it?" The feeling of dread gripped him tightly as he waited for Sethe to respond, but he kept his face as calm as he could.

"I can't tell…everything looks different, but I can't say how or why."

Within moments Zahra's eyes filled with tears, but he blinked them back and tried to speak evenly. "But…you can see?"

Sethe nodded slowly. "I can…well…Mahado said that he would return today to see how everything turned out…I'll ask him about it then. Come on…" Sethe smiled at Zahra and grabbed his hand. "We have to go."

Something _was_ wrong with Sethe's sight, and Zahra noticed the differences in Sethe's actions more than once during the morning, and it was always the same mistake. Sethe would reach out to grab something or to move something, and each time he did he would either misjudge the distance and not reach out far enough, or he would reach too far and when his fingers hit the thing they would shake slightly, as though he hadn't expected to touch it just yet. He never made any mention of it and acted as though it weren't happening, but Zahra was watching him closely, and it was more than obvious. Zahra kept him mouth shut, however, and hoped that whatever was wrong with Sethe's sight was only something that he would have to get used to. It hurt him deeply, each time that Zahra watched him make a mistake like that it felt like someone was tugging on his heart, and would have to turn away for a second and collect himself, but he didn't let Sethe know just how frightened he was.

After the shrine was finished, Sethe and Zahra met up with Mahado in the library, and this time Zahra was allowed to stay and watch. Mahado pulled two chairs away from the table and faced them towards one another, sitting in one and motioning silently for Sethe to sit in the other. Zahra sat at the table and watched as Mahado and Sethe spoke about his eyesight and prayed that Mahado could fix Sethe, no matter what was wrong with him.

"Something is different…but I'm not sure what. It's in the way that things look at a distance…I can't tell exactly how far away they are."

Mahado nodded and kept his expression perfectly calm, leaning over and examining Sethe's eye from up close. Zahra rested his chin on his arms and watched them silently. Mahado leaned back and pushed his chair further away from Sethe with his feet, and then lifted his arm in the air and faced his palm towards Sethe.

"Reach out, and try to touch my hand. Don't look at anything except the spot you're trying to touch." Sethe nodded and then reached out with his left hand until he was almost touching Mahado's palm but then he paused and frowned, then tried again and reached out too far, touching Mahado's hand and then drawing back suddenly, as though Mahado's hand was not where he had though it was. Mahado let his hand fall to his lap and then he looked over at Zahra for a second, then back at Sethe.

"He can stay. He'll need to know, anyway. What's wrong with it?"

Mahado looked at his hands for a moment before he spoke, and his voice was just as quiet as it always was, but it seemed reserved somehow. "It's your depth perception. It's almost totally gone…which means that the sight in your right eye is nearly gone, as well." Zahra's heart seemed to stop beating for just a second, but as soon as it started up again it beat faster than ever, and his eyes grew huge as he listened to Mahado speak. "You've still got some sight left in it…but that will be gone before the year is up."

Sethe's expression remained surprisingly vacant during Mahado's explanation, and all he did was nod his head in response. Zahra watched him in shock, unable to believe that Sethe was really that accepting of the situation. He stood up suddenly and walked over to where the two sat, facing Mahado and speaking uncontrollably.

"But…isn't there something that you can do? Can't you heal it?" Mahado shook his head patiently, and Sethe reached out and took Zahra's hand, pulling him back from Mahado. Zahra looked down at Sethe and saw him smiling evenly.

"Zahra, stop. You know that he can't." Zahra stared down in horror, unable to believe that Sethe was going to just nod and smile and pretend like everything was alright, when it so clearly wasn't. Sethe looked away from Zahra and stood up, following Mahado to the doorway and thanking him, or so Zahra thought. He wasn't even listening, too lost in his own thoughts to hear them.

Sethe's blind…only in one eye, but…I did it. I took that from him. And it's for sure now, there isn't any doubt. It will be gone in a matter of months. Will he…will he hate me for it? I know that he must still be in shock over it, because he's acting like…like he doesn't even care.

Zahra looked up and found Sethe leaning against the wall next to the doorway, his hand over his eyes. He wasn't moving, and he didn't make a sound, and Zahra approached him slowly and touched his chest lightly, wondering what he should do. Sethe didn't move, and then Zahra took his hand away and pressed his face into Sethe instead, and Sethe's arms came up around his waist and held him there tightly, never once making a sound. His breathing was slow and even, and he appeared to only be thinking, and Zahra leaned against him patiently and waited to see what Sethe would do next. He was still and silent for a very long time, and after a few minutes had passed Zahra tried to lean back to see his face, but Sethe only held onto him tighter, and Zahra smiled, despite the situation. Sethe still wanted him there.

"Zahra…" Zahra looked up without moving anything but his head and looked at Sethe, who was staring down at him solemnly, looking serious but nothing else. He didn't even look sad. "You still…you still feel the same way? About me?" Zahra blinked, wondering why Sethe even needed to ask him that, but he nodded his head, and Sethe smiled sadly and touched his face, running his fingers over the skin slowly while Zahra watched. "You will feel guilty…even if I tell you not to. Isn't that right?" Zahra looked back down, not wanting to look at Sethe while he thought of that.

"Yes."

"Always?"

Zahra pressed the side of his face into Sethe's chest. "Yes."

Sethe nodded. "I thought so. But Zahra…you can't take it back. And I wouldn't ask you to." He stopped and thought for a moment before he continued. "If I kissed you right now, would it be the same as it was yesterday?"

"…Of course it would be. Everything is the same…for us." Zahra looked up at Sethe, confused, but Sethe only smiled back.

"That's all I meant. That's all that matters." Sethe kissed Zahra, and Zahra smiled all of a sudden, shocked at how right he really was. It was just the same, and nothing at all felt different. The feel of Sethe's lips against his own, the taste of his mouth, the way that he always grazed his teeth lightly against Zahra's bottom lip…it was all that really mattered. It was an accident, and Zahra would never forgive himself for it. But if Sethe remained the same, then he might still be able to live with himself, despite what he'd done.

* * *

Zahra sighed quietly, not wanting to wake up Sethe, but still frustrated over the fact that he had been trying to fall asleep for what seemed like hours, to no avail. It wasn't Sethe's eye, although that did still cross his mind at least once for every minute that passed, there was something more…something that kept him from falling asleep, and it was relentless. Zahra knew that it was no use, and he sat up from Sethe's arms slowly, taking care not to wake him up as he slid across the bed and swung his legs over the edge. He leaned over to the floor and grabbed his clothes, dressing himself quietly and walking around the edge of the bed to give Sethe a quick kiss before he left the room and wandered slowly down the hallway.

It was that room that was on his mind, the one that Sethe had taken Zahra to long ago on top of the palace and showed him all of the creatures of Ba. Zahra hadn't fully understood what Sethe was teaching him then, and he knew that he still didn't quite grasp the concept, but his view of Ba had changed dramatically since then, especially concerning his own. But despite everything that had happened, he was still curious as to what his Ba might be. He knew for a fact that there wasn't any way he was going to try and call it out of himself, not after what had happened to Sethe. No…Sethe would have to draw it out of him. But Sethe was hesitant to do that, since he had been told that it wasn't a pleasant experience.

_But I've been thinking…and remembering. When I accidentally found Suti's shrine…I knew who my Ba was then. That's the other person that was inside of me…it makes sense. But I still can't remember who it was…but perhaps if I see them in that room up the stairs, I might remember them. It's worth a try…and it's something that I want to do on my own. I can't say why, but I think that this might work better if I'm alone. Even so…I wish that Sethe were here. _

The palace was dark and the stairs were long, but Zahra walked up them slowly and came out on the roof, recognizing the view of the city at night instantly. He smiled as he climbed the last step and remembered the very spot that he and Sethe had sat and looked at the stars…it wasn't so long ago. Zahra knew that he and Sethe needed to come back up here soon and spend another night like that one, but then he turned away and walked towards the doorway surrounded by firelight, the one that led into the small room that held the records of Ba. He had only just walked through the doorway when a hand touched his shoulder lightly and he jumped away immediately, turning around quickly to see who had done that.

"Mahado…you really scared me." Zahra placed his hand on his chest and felt his heart race, but Mahado only gave him a small smile and then turned, staring silently at the walls. Zahra knew that Mahado wouldn't speak unless spoken to, and he was curious to know why Mahado of all people was up here this late at night. "Hey…Mahado. What are you doing?"

Mahado didn't look back over at Zahra until after he had finished speaking. "Thinking." The look he gave Zahra was pleasant and open, and Zahra smiled and pushed the issue.

"Thinking about what?"

Mahado touched a spot on the wall, and then let his hand fall away. "Several things."

Zahra turned and faced one of the walls. He hadn't really expected Mahado to tell him, but it had been worth a try. He heard Mahado move behind him, and he turned around and found him facing the same wall that Zahra was looking at.

"But the thing I came here to think about is the Pharaoh." Zahra blinked, wondering why Mahado had offered up information like that, but suddenly feeling very curious as to what he meant by that. Sethe had mentioned something once that Zahra hadn't asked him about further, not caring at the moment, but now it was important as he realized that it might be true.

"_Sethe…do you think that I might be able to fix your sight if I learned to heal, like Mahado?"_

_Sethe looked up from his book and sighed. "Are you still on about that? I can read fine, which was really all I was worried about in the first place. And anyway…Shemsu-Suti aren't very good at healing spells. That requires gold Heka, strong gold, and we can't draw that."_

"_But I want to try. You can't teach me?"_

_Sethe shook his head. "I don't know the first thing about it."_

_Zahra, unwilling to give up so easily, tried another tactic. "What if I asked Mahado to teach me? Would you be mad?"_

_Sethe chuckled deeply and looked back down at his book. "No…but I doubt that he has the time to teach you anything. He's far too busy pining over the Pharaoh all day long. The only reason he stayed on here during the Akhet was because he couldn't follow the Pharaoh to the Nile, and he needed busy himself in his absence." Sethe laughed again to himself and began reading once more. _

Zahra thought quickly, wondering if there wasn't any way that he could help this situation. But first, he had to find out just what he was dealing with.

"Ah…the Pharaoh. He's…he's really very nice, isn't he?" Zahra turned to face Mahado fully and took a small and friendly step in his direction. Mahado said nothing, but something changed behind his eyes and he watched Zahra a bit more carefully. "Mph…and you know, he…" Zahra caught Mahado's eyes and held them, "He isn't all that bad looking. In fact…" Zahra found what he was looking for, a brief flash of jealously, very slim and still good natured, as Mahado was, but it was there all the same, and Zahra smiled ever brighter. "He's too short, though."

Mahado frowned slightly, looking more worried than angry. "He isn't."

Zahra laughed and tilted his head to the side. "No…maybe you're right. But it doesn't matter to me, I'm in love with someone else."

"Sethe?" Zahra smiled and nodded, leaning back against the wall and facing Mahado. "He loves you more than anything."

"He does…doesn't he?" Zahra grinned widely and Mahado nodded. This was working out perfectly, and Zahra was nearly beside himself with excitement. This was exactly the sort of challenge that Zahra couldn't wait to get himself tangled up in. But Mahado was almost too easy; he tripped over every pitfall that Zahra created with his words, and Zahra wondered if the Pharaoh had any idea. "…I love him just the same." Zahra sighed dramatically, and looked up to the ceiling, watching the firelight creep in through the doorway and illuminate the darkest corners just slightly. "It's wonderful…to be able to live this way, just he and I in the temple." He looked back over at Mahado with a face full of inquiry. "Mahado, do you live in the palace with the Pharaoh?"

"Yes…but his room is far from mine." Mahado spoke briefly, looking at Zahra just the way he always did. Zahra took a breath and tried again.

"Oh…so, why did you come here to think about him? Did something bad happen?"

"No."

"…Did something good happen?"

Mahado looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well…" Zahra thought that perhaps a more straightforward approach would do the trick. "I just thought that maybe you told him how you felt, and that something good might have come of it. Have you?"

Mahado gave Zahra an odd look, the most expressive look that Zahra had ever seen on his face, and he opened his mouth to speak, but the words took some time coming out. "How…how did you know that?" He was surprised, but he wasn't angry or upset, and Zahra smiled at him deliberately.

"I'm Shemsu-Suti…I can see lots of things that you can't." Mahado's face softened a bit, but Zahra's words seemed to spark something in his mind and he spoke with a louder tone.

"What kinds of things?"

"Well, I can see…I haven't really talked about it, but I can see pretty much anything about anyone. And I can hear what people are thinking, and I can see what's happened to them that made them what they are. Um…I can go inside people's dreams, too, but I only did it once, so I'm not too sure how that works." Zahra pushed off of the wall and stood on his feet, trying to remember all of the different things that he'd found that he could do, and realizing that the list was far longer than he had once thought it was. Mahado watched him with an intrigued look, and when Zahra paused he waited silently for him to continue, and Zahra thought of more things and spoke. "Oh, and I'm really good at Heka…honestly. Sethe says that I'm better than him, but I think that he's just saying that because he's Sethe. But every time I try something new, I do it before I can even think about it. Except finding my Ba. I can't seem to do that."

Mahado looked up at the walls at Zahra's mention of Ba, and he spoke quietly. "Did Sethe teach you about Ba?"

Zahra nodded. "I came here to try and find mine…I can't seem to figure out who it is. I thought that since it has to be one of these, if I saw the picture on the wall it might make me see it."

"That might work…unless you're the Lord of Red."

Zahra stopped moving, thinking, and breathing all in the same second and stared at Mahado, wondering if he had really said that. "…What?"

"The Lord of Red. If that's who you are, then it won't work." Mahado's voice was calm and plain, and it calmed Zahra's nerves a bit, but he found that he still couldn't move from where he stood. Mahado watched Zahra with an even stare and waited for him to ask.

"Mahado…who is the Lord of Red?"

He looked up at the ceiling for a few moments before he answered, watching the firelight flicker. "The Lord of Red is a creature of Ba…though you won't find him in here."

"Why not?"

"Look…" Mahado motioned for Zahra to follow him over to another wall, and he leaned down and pointed to one of the countless squares, and Zahra noticed that particular one for the very first time. It was completely blank, and he reached out and touched the stone and felt it's unnatural smoothness. Whatever used to be here had been erased. "He's no longer here."

Zahra stood up without taking his eyes off of the blank stone, and Mahado continued. "Amun-Ra had him erased from the limitless Ba long ago…so now, he is only reborn when Suti sends him to be."

_Suti…that's right. The Lord of Red is a creature of Suti…but a creature of Ba, as well?_

"But…why isn't he here?"

Mahado frowned for a moment, thinking deeply. "It's because of many things." Mahado sounded very calm, at least to Zahra, who wasn't at all accustomed to hearing anything like this from anyone but Sethe. But Zahra wouldn't ever dare to ask Sethe about the Lord of Red…not after witnessing that dream. "The Lord of Red was something special to Suti…do you know how the Ba were created?" Zahra shook his head wordlessly. "In the old kingdom, the gods created the different Ba all at once, by combining their powers. That is why any god can choose any of these Ba to give to their Shemsu the moment that they are born. All Ba are aligned with each and every god. But the Lord of Red is aligned with Suti, and only Suti. No god can give their Shemsu the Ba of the Lord of Red. He belongs to Suti alone."

Zahra wasn't sure how to react. Where had Mahado come up with all of this? Despite his floundering thoughts he was able to force out a coherent sentence. "But if the Lord of Red wasn't created by the gods…then why was he on the records?"

"Because he is still a creature of Ba…the most rare and the most dangerous. Suti created him alone, without help, and without the consent of Amun-Ra."

"So…so…" Zahra stumbled over his words, trying to work them out in his head. "Then he was taken off? Why?"

Mahado looked hard at Zahra, and Zahra felt nervous, in a way, but not because of the way Mahado looked at him. It was the feeling of the words to come. "Suti fell in love with him…one of the dangers of creating something from nothing. He gave up his position next to Amun-Ra just to be with him…but I hear that that's not the way the story goes…not anymore." Mahado lowered his gaze to the floor and walked slowly out of the room, and Zahra trailed closely behind him, his skin freezing with anxiety. It was the same story that Sethe had been researching for years…how had Mahado learned that? Zahra was afraid to ask. And what might Sethe say, when he found the answer to his question was the same thing that destroyed his entire life all those years ago? Zahra wasn't sure that he should tell Sethe what he had learned tonight.

"Mahado…wait!" Mahado paused on the very first step and turned to face Zahra, a patient look on his face. "Is he…is the Lord of Red alive today in someone?"

"He must be. It rarely happens…but he was the one who destroyed Memphis. That wasn't more than ten years ago."

"But why Memphis? And…and why not Sethe?"

Mahado shook his head. "No one knows that. No one except Sethe. And even he may not remember anymore." He turned away, and Zahra let him leave, not wanting to keep him out any later. He had learned far too much for one night as it was, and he backed away a few steps and sat down on the roof, staring silently out onto the city. His head was swimming, but he just couldn't make it stop, and he let it run wildly as it wanted to and didn't bother to try and make sense of it all.

_Suti fell in love with him…that's the answer that Sethe was searching for, all this time. It was the Lord of Red…but how could Mahado know that? Why would he know more about it than Sethe did? And why tell me, and not Sethe? Does he think…that it's me?_

_A creature of Ba…the most rare and the most dangerous…_

Zahra stared helplessly out into the night, trying to think of a way to make it impossible, but the more that he thought about it, the more sense that it made. The thing inside of him…it gave him abilities that even Sethe knew nothing of. It couldn't be. Zahra refused to believe it.

_That would mean that it was me…it was me who destroyed Memphis…and I don't remember ever doing a thing like that. I wouldn't ever…but what if he did it on his own? Sethe said that your Ba can leave your body in your sleep…and anyway, Memphis was destroyed ten years ago. That would have made me only seven years old…I can hardly remember even being seven. No. I refuse to be the thing that did this. I am not the Lord of Red. I'm Zahra…and my Ba has to be something else. _

Zahra bit his lip and closed his eyes, knowing that there was some other explanation for the way that he was, something else that was more logical. If he were the Lord of Red, he would have known it by now. And furthermore, there was one more issue in his mind that he felt was even more pressing than that, the reason why Memphis was destroyed. Mahado had said that Sethe knew at one time, but had forgotten. If it was trapped somewhere in his memories, then perhaps Zahra could find the answer. But would Sethe allow it? Did he even want to know why or how it had happened? He never spoke of it, not even after Zahra had slipped into his nightmare. Zahra thought that it was best if he never told Sethe about the things that he had leaned from Mahado. But perhaps he could open the door a bit, and try to get Sethe to talk about what had happened.

* * *

"Sethe…?"

Sethe looked up from his book quickly and glanced at Zahra across the table. "What?"

Zahra smiled, thinking of the night before. "You know what?"

Sethe flipped a page and continued reading the text. "What?"

"Mahado likes the Pharaoh."

Sethe smirked without looking away from his book. "You don't say."

"Does the Pharaoh like him back?"

"The Pharaoh doesn't even know. Mahado won't tell him."

"Oh…" Zahra wasn't too surprised. After all, Mahado was…Mahado, and Zahra didn't feel that he was the sort of person who would say something like that. "But…do you think that the Pharaoh likes him back?"

Sethe looked away from his book and placed his full attention on Zahra for the first time. "…Why?" His tone had become suspicious, but Zahra only smiled at him.

"No reason…but does he?" Zahra discarded his grin and looked at Sethe with wide, curious eyes, but Sethe wasn't fooled so easily.

"I have no idea…what are you up to?" Zahra shrugged his shoulders and looked down at his own book, pretending to be nonchalant. "No…look at me." Zahra glanced up and Sethe peered at him warily. "Are you trying to…to do something?"

Zahra smiled and looked down at his hands. "Maybe…I was just thinking of talking Mahado into telling the Pharaoh how he felt, but I didn't want him to do it if, you know, the Pharaoh didn't like him back."

"Hmph. I doubt that Mahado will ever tell him. And you…" Sethe smirked and leaned back in his chair. "Why are you so concerned with it?"

"It'll be fun…don't you want to see them get together?"

Sethe shook his head and turned a page. "I suppose…but don't you think that they'll get together if they want to? There isn't any sense in meddling."

Zahra frowned at Sethe's uninterested attitude. "Well…there isn't a lot of sense in some of the things that _you_ do."

"Such as?"

Zahra looked around, not knowing that he was going to be called on it, and he tried to think of something quickly. "You…well, for one thing, you work here. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense, now, does it?"

"And where would you have me work?" Sethe wasn't even reading his book anymore, and he watched Zahra closely. He wasn't mad, but Zahra felt that he might have been put off by what he had said.

"I…I'm sorry…" Zahra reached across the table and took Sethe's hand. "Don't be mad."

"I'm not mad. I just want to hear what you would have said. Where else do you think that you or I could go?"

Zahra looked down at the tabletop and thought, thinking back quickly to what Isis had said to Zahra the last time he had seen her.

"_There isn't any future for someone like that. Not in Egypt."_

"Um…the Red Lands?"

Sethe scoffed at his answer disgustedly. "Are you serious? We wouldn't last for more than a few hours out there. It's uninhabitable. And the places that are livable are crawling with thieves and criminals. This is it, Zahra…we can't ever leave."

"I wouldn't want to. I…I didn't mean that, earlier." Zahra looked back down at his book. He was getting much better, now that he was learning how to read the symbols as opposed to writing them out, and while he was nowhere near the level of literacy that Sethe was, he _could _read, something that never failed to amaze him no matter how many times he was able to do it. It was special, somehow, and even though he knew that it was nothing compared to some of the other things that he could do, this particular ability he had worked for. It didn't come to him naturally, and it wasn't granted by some invisible force. He had earned it.

"Zahra…put the book down." Zahra looked up at Sethe and set the book down immediately, seeing that Sethe had already closed his own and placed it on the table in front of him. "I know that you don't want to talk about this, but it's been awhile, and…it needs to be discussed."

"…What?" Zahra already knew what he spoke of, but he didn't want Sethe to know. He himself didn't even want to know the true answer. There were too many possibilities.

"It's your Ba…Zahra, I'm…I don't want to bring this up, but I have to find out who it is. It's for your own safety…just that. I'm not concerned with anyone else's. And the longer that we wait, the more impatient the Pharaoh will become…he told me months ago that I needed to find out." Sethe paused and searched Zahra's face, and Zahra looked down at the tabletop, knowing that he had to comply.

_But…but what if…what if I really am the Lord of Red? If I am, I don't want to know about it. But if I'm really not, then I'll know for sure, and I can stop worrying. It's too risky, though. If Sethe finds out that I'm the Lord of Red…_if_ that's who I am…he'll hate me. He'll have no choice but to hate me…I would. _

"Sethe…" Zahra stared at his hands and grasped for the words that weren't there. "Do we…do we have to? What if you get hurt again?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I didn't think that you would ever risk trying to call it out again. So, I was thinking that maybe you would let me draw it out. But then," Sethe frowned and ran a hand through his bangs, appearing to be stressed. "We have to find out at some point. And this appears to be the only way left. But I won't do it unless you say that it's alright."

He has to…I haven't got any other choice but to let him.

"Let me…let me think about it. Please, just for awhile." Sethe nodded his head and smiled at Zahra, and Zahra gave him a small smile back, wondering just how much longer he would be able to put this off. He wanted as much time as fate would allow him to be with Sethe, but as soon as he found out…_if_ that was the real truth…it would all be over. And Zahra wouldn't expect any different.

"What is it, Zahra?"

Zahra's face went blank and he blinked at Sethe, confused. "What do you mean?"

Sethe leaned over and laid his arms on the table, taking both of Zahra's hand in his own. "I mean, what is it that's been bothering you? You've been upset for days, now…is it something that I can take care of?"

Zahra shook his head and looked away, feeling guilty as ever. _I don't want to be the Lord of Red. I never want to be responsible for hurting you…but that's all I ever seem to do._

"Sethe…what if…what if my Ba is something terrible?"

Sethe smiled and stood up from his chair, pulling Zahra up by his arms. "It's not possible. Is that why you're worried about it? Look, whatever your Ba is, it doesn't matter. It won't change a thing…all it will do is show me who you are inside. And I already know that…this is just a formality because of where you live. And once it's over, do you know what comes next?"

Zahra hadn't thought that there _was _a next, and he brightened up a bit and smiled at Sethe. "No, what?"

"After your Ba is identified, you'll be given a title of Ka. And with one of those, you can be initiated into the temple."

"…Really?" That might be nice, although Zahra wasn't sure why Sethe thought that it was so special. "Um…what does that mean?"

Sethe sighed and brought Zahra's palm to his lips and kissed it briefly. "It means that you'll belong to the gods, and no one else. You won't be a slave anymore."

Zahra's breath caught in his throat, and he froze where he was, feeling as though his heart had stopped. _Not a slave anymore…_ He smiled hopefully at Sethe as he spoke, whispering in anticipation. "I won't?" Sethe shook his head, and Zahra fell into action, feeling brighter than he had in days. If he could just make it that far…then everything would be perfect. He stepped forward in a rush and hugged Sethe tightly, listening to the way his bracelets jangled as he moved, and he thought of something else and felt his heart drop slightly.

"Oh…" Zahra leaned back but Sethe held his waist, and Zahra brought his hands forward and looked at his wrists. "But…I'll have to take these off…" There wasn't any question, he'd take them off in a second, but still. "Not that I don't want it…but I love these, and I was so happy when you brought them back for me…I don't want to take them off."

"Well, you'll have to. Don't worry…" Sethe leaned over and kissed Zahra on the lips before he finished speaking. "I'm sure that I can find you something else to wear."

"Oooh…really?" Zahra smiled and held on tightly to Sethe, leaning against his chest. Despite his worries, he felt so much better now, and he gripped Sethe as hard as he could, believing for the first time that things just might really work out alright in the end.

"Hmmm…but it's not for awhile. Even if you did want to do this right away, we would have to wait. Every priest had to be present to see your Ba, and Mahado will be leaving soon. He has to go to Hermopolis to oversee the temple blessing."

"How come? Don't they have their own priests there?"

"This temple, the one that we live in, is the main shrine to Amun-Ra in Egypt. The only other one is in Hermopolis, since it's the only sacred city left since Memphis was destroyed. A priest from the main shrine has to be there for this…it's only once a year, and he always goes. He'll only be gone for a week, and then you're free to continue with your matchmaking."

Zahra had been nervous to heart Sethe mention Memphis, but he smiled at Zahra as he spoke, especially that last part, and Zahra's worries slipped away. He wondered briefly if he should tell Sethe what he had learned from Mahado, but he didn't feel that the time was right. Perhaps he might tell him someday, when everything had settled down, but for right now, there was too much at stake as it was, and Zahra had more than that on his mind.

* * *

AN: This is the beginning of the end, sadly. But they are so cute together! Ah! There are eleven chapters, so everything comes together in the next two. Speaking of which, I went back and began to read over the story that this one is based on, Clear Vision. Wow, it was bad. I suppose it's too late to go back and re-write it, but still...blech. That was forever ago...the very first story I ever wrote, fanfiction or no. Well...all I can say is that I hope there has been some sort of improvement over the course of time. I hope you liked this chapter, and I'll try to post as soon as I can. In the meantime, let me know how you like it, and if you don't, tell me that, too. Yell at me...I need abuse like that. 


	10. Hyskos

Asylum

By Katsuya Kaiba

* * *

"…Mahado!" Zahra whispered as loudly as he could, and when Mahado didn't look up he leaned over further and spoke just a little louder. "Mahado!" Mahado did look up this time, and Zahra waved at him, motioning for him to come over into the temple. Zahra pulled his head back through the doorway that led from the temple into the palace, and he waited for Mahado to enter into the hallway, not wanting to go into the throne room while all the priests were there, seeing Mahado off. Mahado ducked into the doorway and looked at Zahra silently, waiting for him to speak.

"You still haven't told him, have you?" Zahra put his hands on his hips and glared at Mahado, and Mahado's eyes widened, thinking that Zahra was truly angry.

"I…I couldn't. I though that it would be bad to say it right before I leave."

Zahra smiled and let his arms fall, showing Mahado that he wasn't really angry. "That was good…I didn't think about that. But I had the greatest idea…why don't you get him something in Hermopolis and bring it back for him? That way you could give it to him when you get back before you tell him."

Mahado blinked and quietly thought the idea out in his head. "It's a good idea…but he has everything he needs."

"Well…get him something that he wants. It doesn't have to be anything too extravagant. Just find something that you know he'll like. I _know_ that you know what he likes." Zahra grinned at Mahado, who smiled back weakly, but he didn't say anything at first and Zahra held up his hands to Mahado, showing him his bracelets. "Look, Mahado…it worked for Sethe. Why wouldn't it work for you?"

Mahado smiled, the first real smile that Zahra had ever seen on him, and Zahra pushed him out of the doorway. "I want to see it when you get back, okay?" Mahado nodded and then waved good-bye to Zahra, who waved happily back, congratulating himself for a job well done.

_I just hope he knows what to get him…but I'm sure that he does. I can't wait until he gets back. I want to see what he picks out. Oh…and we'll have to work on what he's planning to say to the Pharaoh…I'm sure that he'll need help with that. _

Zahra wandered cheerfully through the dim hallways of the temple, wondering where Sethe had run off to. He hadn't been gone long, but Sethe wasn't where he had been, in the library, and Zahra frowned and wandered around the temple, trying to find Sethe and finding nothing but empty rooms.

_He isn't in the main shrine, that's for sure…but he doesn't seem to be anywhere else, either. _

He strolled casually through the halls towards the front of the temple, hearing voices from a distance suddenly, accompanied by the familiar feel of Sethe's irritation. Zahra crept up slowly and heard the voices getting louder, and he flattened himself against the wall and peeked around the corner, seeing Sethe and the Pharaoh standing face to face in the sunlight, speaking in calm voices. Zahra knew that Sethe wasn't happy with the conversation, and he listened closely, able to make out what they were saying clearly.

"Sethe, I don't have time for this right now. Mahado is about to leave, and I want to be there to see him go. But I will come back, and I want to hear the truth when I do. If this is Zahra's fault…we'll talk about this later."

That was the Pharaoh, and he sounded pretty upset, although his voice was level. Perhaps it was the way that he felt. Zahra instantly knew what they were talking about, and he wasn't sure what Sethe was going to say, but he knew that he'd probably try to cover up what really happened. Zahra cringed, the relentless feeling of guilt sneaking back up in him quietly. He heard footsteps slowly dissipating into the temple, and as soon as he was sure that the Pharaoh was gone, he stepped out from the hall he hid in and hesitantly approached Sethe, who watched the Pharaoh go and didn't even see Zahra coming. Zahra snuck up behind him and leaned against his back, holding onto to Sethe's waist, and Sethe started slightly at the unexpected contact.

"Oh, good. You were listening." Sethe's tone was dry, but Zahra knew that he was only upset, not angry. At least not at Zahra.

"You're not going to tell him the truth." It wasn't a question, and Zahra already knew the answer, anyway.

"I can't. I don't want to lie to him…but he just doesn't understand. Or maybe he does, and he just doesn't care anymore. I feel as though things have changed between us…but I'm not sure when that happened." His voice fell as he spoke, sounding irritated at first but then changing slowly into a confused sort or sadness, and he paused briefly before continuing. "It's as though…he's beginning to feel the same way about us as everyone else. Perhaps he always did, and I just didn't see it."

"No…" Zahra let go of Sethe and walked around to face him. "He's worried. He knows that I…that I'm the one that hurt your eye." Zahra held on to his arms and looked away, knowing that any sort of conflict between the two had most certainly been caused by him, and only him. "Maybe you should tell him the truth."

Sethe frowned and took Zahra's hand quickly, almost forcefully, and led him back into the depths of the temple. "No. I can't, and I won't. It's too risky…he might try to send you away, and I won't allow it." Sethe's voice was louder now, and he spoke confidently, as though he weren't at all worried about the situation. Zahra had to walk quickly to keep up with his pace, and he stumbled a bit and pulled himself back up by the hand that Sethe held onto tightly.

"But…wouldn't it be even riskier to lie to him? He _is _the Pharaoh…and what if he asks me about it? What would I do?"

"You would tell him exactly what I'm going to tell him, that it was my fault, and my accident." Zahra stopped walking suddenly and pulled his hand out of Sethe's grasp, standing still in the hallway and staring at Sethe in disbelief.

"You want me to…to lie to him? Sethe…I can't! I can't lie to the Pharaoh. Are you crazy?" Zahra instantly fell into a panic the moment that he realized what Sethe wanted for him to do, and looked at Sethe, waiting for him to respond. Sethe appeared angry, for just a moment, and then he cooled off into frustration, but when he spoke to Zahra his tone was much sharper than Zahra had heard in months.

"Yes…you can, and you'll have to. Do you think that I want to lie to him? I don't…I really don't want to, but I have to. And so do you."

Zahra suddenly felt as though Sethe wasn't even giving him a choice in the matter, which he wasn't, and he reacted on his initial feeling of being backed into a corner with no way out. He already felt guilty enough, and to lie about what he'd done, to the Pharaoh, no less, was something that he wasn't sure that he could do. "No. I…why are you being like this? I don't want to. I can't!" He took a deep breath and watched as Sethe's eyes narrowed, and he subconsciously stared at the shattered part in Sethe's eye as he waited for Sethe to explode, feeling sure that it was coming. Sethe opened his mouth, but then he closed it again and looked away for a few seconds, speaking to the wall in a calm and empty tone.

"Perhaps you don't understand. If I tell him what truly happened, it will only prove to him that he was right before, and that you're too dangerous to keep in the temple. If he decides to send you away…there won't be a thing that I can do about it. I'm willing to do anything I can to make sure that it doesn't happen. But if you'd rather that happen, then tell him whatever you wish." Sethe closed his eyes and turned away, walking further down the hallway, and Zahra didn't follow him, not knowing if that was what Sethe wanted him to do or not. It didn't look that way.

Zahra watched him go and blinked angrily at the tears in front of his eyes, wiping them away irritably with his arm. Sethe hadn't ever been angry with him, and Zahra wasn't sure what he should do, but he thought that maybe it was best to wait until Sethe wasn't upset any longer. _And that could take hours_, Zahra remembered with a sigh. He felt worse than he had before, when all he had done was hurt Sethe. Now he had hurt Sethe, made him upset, and had to lie to the Pharaoh so that he wouldn't lose Sethe forever. Nothing could ever be simple. There never seemed to be a day when it was just he and Sethe, being together with no troubles and nothing to worry about. Nothing to look forward to and nothing to fear. Zahra wished for a day like that, one where there weren't any shadows creeping in the farthest recesses of his mind, waiting to strike out the moment that Zahra wasn't looking.

* * *

Zahra stared nervously at the open doorway, sitting at the table in the library. Someone was coming, and it wasn't Sethe. Zahra hadn't seen Sethe for hours, and he'd been moping around miserably the entire time, trying to work up the nerve to go and look for him to apologize. But now this someone had his attention, and he wasn't too surprised to see the Pharaoh walk inside the room, his eyes falling on Zahra immediately. He came to stand in front of the table Zahra sat at, and Zahra straightened his posture and smiled a cheerfully as he could, but the Pharaoh was too preoccupied to smile back, and he began to speak immediately.

"Zahra…Sethe told me that there has been an accident, and he's lost his sight in one eye. He claims that it was entirely his fault…is that true?" Zahra blinked and swallowed hard, knowing that he had to make his decision, and it had to be now. Sethe suddenly walked quickly into the room and his eyes widened as he took in the situation, but he stood behind the Pharaoh silently and watched. The Pharaoh turned quickly and saw Sethe, but he said nothing to him and instead turned back to stare at Zahra, who had his mouth open and was trying to get the words out of his mouth.

_I can't leave…I won't leave…_ Zahra looked at Sethe quickly to see if he was still angry, but he only looked desperately at Zahra with a stricken look on his face, and Zahra looked back to the Pharaoh and nodded.

"I was there…but it wasn't me." Zahra tried his absolute best to appear calm and collected, but he was almost positive that the Pharaoh could see right through his lie, and he picked at his nails nervously and tried to think of other things, and ultimately failed. The Pharaoh made an odd noise, a frustrated sigh, and he turned back to look at Sethe, and Zahra glanced up again to watch them. The Pharaoh opened his mouth to speak, and before he could even get the first word out Zahra already knew just how unhappy he was.

"Sethe…it isn't that I believe that you would lie to me…but I do believe that you would do anything at all for Zahra, even if it meant betraying your position. If you are…please do not let me find out." He closed his eyes and walked out of the room, and Sethe watched him go silently, looking very calm and thoughtful as he stared. Zahra felt as though he would scream for all of the tension in the room, but Sethe turned his blue eyes back to his and he froze, remembering that Sethe was angry with him. He stood up abruptly and tried to slip past him out of the room, but Sethe's arm reached out suddenly and caught Zahra by the waist.

"…Don't go." Zahra paused where he was and looked up at Sethe, who hadn't moved, and wasn't yet looking back at Zahra. He stared quietly at the floor for a moment, and then he pulled on Zahra's waist and brought him to stand in front of him. Zahra moved willingly, and watched Sethe's face as Sethe brought his eyes to Zahra's slowly.

"I didn't know what you were going to say." His voice was small and filled with uncertainty, but Zahra closed his eyes and pressed the side of his face into Sethe and held on closely.

"…I did." Sethe said nothing to that and instead pulled Zahra closer. "I'm sorry…please don't be angry with me."

"I wasn't ever angry. I was scared…that you might have to go…" Sethe trailed off into silence and remained still for a moment, but then he suddenly sprang into action and leaned back to look at Zahra, who lifted his head with a smile. "But there isn't anything to be afraid of. Not when we're so close…it won't be long now until you belong to the temple. Then you won't be able to leave. Not until you die." Sethe took Zahra's hand and pulled him through the doorway, smiling softly. "Come on…let's go and seal the shrine."

"How long now until Mahado gets back?" Zahra was impatient for his return, and it felt as though he had been gone forever.

"He's only been gone for five days…it'll be at least another five." Sethe sat down on the edge of the bed after he had changed into his sleeping clothes, and he watched Zahra curiously as he sat down on the other side. "Why do you keep asking me that?"

Zahra smiled to himself and shrugged. "Mmm…when he gets back, he's going to tell the Pharaoh. And I promised to help him."

Sethe smirked at that and swung his legs onto the bed, lying down next to Zahra. "Oh…so he's really going to go through with this? And on your advice? He's more smitten that I thought." Zahra frowned at Sethe and lay down on his side to face him.

"You're so mean. For your information, my advice is perfectly fine…and I don't see you trying to help him any. You would have just let him go on like that forever, wouldn't you?"

"It isn't any of my business what he does or who he's on about. It's his problem if he can't work up the courage to tell the Pharaoh, and I still don't think that he will."

Zahra grinned at Sethe and poked him in the arm. "Oh, right…you're one to talk. I seem to recall a certain someone who acted just the same."

Sethe watched Zahra poke him with an upturned nose, and then turned to look at the ceiling, defeated. "Hmph. Well, you know now. And it isn't my fault that you found out."

"Someone had to say something…" Zahra moved over and lay on his stomach beside Sethe. "…And you weren't going to."

Sethe glared downwards. "I was."

Zahra laughed at that and kissed Sethe quickly on the mouth. "Right." Sethe grinned and moved suddenly, flipping Zahra over on the bed until Zahra lay on his back and Sethe was above him, and Zahra kept on laughing until Sethe kissed him again, a bit miffed at Zahra's amusement.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter so much." Zahra watched Sethe's eyes and lowered his own, hearing the shift in Sethe's voice, and Sethe moved in closer and bit down on Zahra's ear. "I took what I wanted."

Zahra drew his breath between his teeth and closed his eyes, feeling a change in himself as well, and he lifted his arms and set them on Sethe's shoulders and pulled him down closer. His heartbeat immediately picked up speed, and he smiled slightly when he felt teeth grazing down his neck and he turned his head to the side.

"Ekh kua tuau, Desher Merew." Sethe smirked at that against Zahra's neck and whispered into his skin.

"Maku-a ka-ek." He lifted his head and kissed Zahra slowly on the mouth, and Zahra shifted his legs slightly and lifted his knees, so that Sethe lay between his legs. Sethe pressed his mouth increasingly harder against Zahra's, and after a few moments had passed Zahra felt one of Sethe's hands running over his chest and down further slowly, searching for the ends of the fabric that Zahra wore, and Zahra moaned deep in the back of his throat as Sethe bit down on his bottom lip. He opened his mouth and Sethe kissed him deeper, slipping a hand underneath Zahra's clothes and trailing his fingers over his ankle and up his calf, over his bent knee, and then Zahra noticed something and his lips paused under Sethe's and he listened closely, unsure of what he had felt or heard exactly. It had sounded like someone was calling him, and Sethe's hand came to a slow halt along Zahra's thigh and he raised his head, watching Zahra closely. "Hereret?"

"Shhh…" Zahra placed his fingers lightly on Sethe's lips and shook his head, whispering quietly. "Didn't you hear that?"

Sethe only paused long enough to give Zahra an odd look and a short sentence. "There was nothing." He smiled softly and touched the side of Zahra's face for a moment, then moved his fingers to his chin and pushed it slightly to the right. Zahra complied, still feeling uneasy but unable to hold on to the feeling as Sethe leaned over and passed his tongue over the hollow at the base of Zahra's throat, moving over to the side and catching the skin of Zahra's neck between his teeth. Zahra cringed at the sudden pain but he allowed Sethe to do it, feeling the sharp twinges of a bruise begin to form on the side of his neck.

The pain began to recede suddenly, and Zahra thought that Sethe had moved away but when he lifted his hand to run it through Sethe's hair he found that Sethe still had his skin, only Zahra couldn't feel it anymore.

"Sethe…" Zahra pushed lightly on Sethe's shoulders, and he realized in a small panic that he could barely feel that, as well, and he gripped tightly to the fabric that Sethe wore, trying to find the feel of it against the skin of his hands. Sethe pushed himself up by his hands and looked at Zahra dazedly, trying to pull himself out of a haze.

"What's wrong?"

Sethe was so close, yet the sound of his words barely reached Zahra's ears, and he had to strain to hear them. His eyes widened as he realized this, and he opened his mouth to speak but he stopped, suddenly feeling just as though pieces of himself were breaking away, and although he couldn't see it or hear it, he knew that something was wrong, something was happening to him and he panicked. He couldn't hear himself speaking, but he spoke just the same and hoped that his voice was working so that Sethe could hear him. His breaths began to come quicker and less evenly, and his face felt streaked with terror.

"Sethe, Sethe, something's wrong…I can't hear, I can't hear myself…I can't feel you." Zahra looked up into Sethe's eyes and felt as though he might have cried, had he been able to. Perhaps he was, and he just couldn't feel it happening. "…I'm scared."

Sethe looked scared, as well, and he sat up on his knees and pulled Zahra forward, and Zahra tried to pull himself up but he found that he was too weak, but Sethe leaned forward and held him by the waist, pulling him against his chest and holding him there. Zahra let his head lean on Sethe's shoulder and lost the last of his awareness right then, sinking into an odd sort of unconsciousness that wasn't unconsciousness at all. It was like being fully awake, only deprived of every sense that he had. His eyelids seemed to slide shut, but Zahra suspected that they hadn't, and thought that his eyesight had merely faded away, just as his hearing and his sense of touch had moments ago. He was strangely aware of the fact that Sethe still held him, was still speaking to him, but there wasn't any way for Zahra to receive it, any of it, and instead he simply existed on a basic level, unaware of the world around him. His mind desperately reached out for anything at all that was familiar, and before too long, or maybe hours instead, Zahra felt himself growing weak in his mind, as well, and he slipped even deeper into something that made him forget where or who he was, drowning in the absence of something crucial within him.

* * *

Zahra came back into himself suddenly and without any warning at all, and it startled him so badly that he gasped aloud and sat upright, blinking with wide eyes and searching all around him. He almost couldn't remember who he had been, but the sight of Sethe brought everything back and he remembered his fear and felt his heart immediately begin to beat uncontrollably. Sethe looked more tired and worried than anything and had been sitting right beside him on the bed, and he started when Zahra came back so suddenly.

"Zahra…what happened?" Zahra shook his head wordlessly and reached out to Sethe with tears of fear in his eyes, and Sethe took him close and waited for Zahra to respond. Zahra closed his eyes against Sethe's chest and tried to remember what had happened to him, but nothing came.

"I don't know…I just slipped away. I couldn't stop it…" He blinked away the tears and took deep breaths, trying to calm his heart. "How long ago…?"

"At least an hour…maybe more. God, I was so worried…I couldn't do anything to stop it." Sethe's arms tightened and Zahra relaxed a little more, thinking of what could have possibly happened, and coming up with nothing. "It was as though your Ba just up and left your body…on it's own. But that doesn't make sense…if it was here, I would have seen it. And anyway, Ba does not do that. Never while you're awake. But there isn't any other explanation…Zahra do you remember seeing anything?"

"No…I couldn't see a thing."

…_What's wrong with me? I just passed out, for no reason. But it was more than that…something left me, something important. _Zahra felt Sethe move back and he lifted his head and stared into his eyes. Sethe studied him for a moment, and then smiled weakly and kissed him lightly on the forehead, brushing back his bangs a bit.

"It's okay…I'm just glad that you're alright." Zahra smiled back, feeling as though things couldn't be as simple as Sethe thought they were. Just because Zahra was back didn't make everything alright.

"Sethe…I think it's bad…whatever it is. I don't feel very good about this." Sethe shook his head and pulled Zahra back against him.

"I know…but there isn't anything we can do. Not right now. If it's your Ba, we'll figure it all out when Mahado returns. Can you sleep?" Zahra nodded his head against Sethe, although he knew that he had been gone for awhile, he felt more tired than ever before. But he hadn't done a thing…

Sethe sat back slowly and laid down, taking Zahra along with him, and Zahra could feel his weariness immediately tugging on his eyelids, although he frowned at the sensation before giving in. None of it made any sense, and Zahra felt that it wasn't likely to, not right away, at least. He prayed that it didn't have anything to do with his Ba, because if it did…Zahra squeezed his eyes shut and curled up closer to Sethe, willing the thought away. He would never be that thing. It wasn't who he was inside, and Sethe had said that your Ba is what makes you who you are. Zahra had never felt so sure about anything, and he tried to smile but found that he was just too tired for that, and instead he let himself fall asleep.

_I know who I am…I'm Zahra, and I've never been anything else. I would remember it, if I had. And even if not…I know that I am not the sort of person who would do the things that the Lord of Red has done. No…it must be somebody else. I'm not afraid…I can't be afraid. When Mahado returns, I'll tell Sethe that it's alright to draw out my Ba, and then everything will be over, and there won't be anything left to worry about. Nothing that concerns the Lord of Red, anyway. He might as well not even exist, for all I care. It's only a story, a dead story that no one knows anymore. It can't hurt me. _

* * *

"Hey…where's Mahado? He supposed to _be here…_" Zahra laid his head on the table and sighed, feeling the hour of the day. It was almost time to seal the shrine, and still no sign of Mahado, which left Zahra feeling irritable and overanxious. Sethe looked over across the table at Zahra's frustration and frowned, having nearly forgotten about the time.

"Well…it is a bit strange. Mahado wouldn't ever stay away from the palace a second longer than he needed to. Maybe those idiots in Hermopolis gave him a hard time. They haven't got the slightest idea of what they're doing over there." Sethe's voice trailed off and he sneered at his book, showing his contempt for the priests who ran the other temple to Amun-Ra. Zahra smiled and lifted his head from the table, not at all surprised to hear that Sethe thought little of others who held the same profession as he did.

"I bet they're just fine…but they're nowhere near as good as you are."

Sethe smirked to himself and leaned back into his chair, and Zahra went to rest his head on the table once more, but something held him up and his heart held still for a second. He reached up to touch his chest, but a feeling of absolute horror filled his heart, and he looked up at Sethe and spoke, hearing himself as he did and having trouble understanding the words. "Sethe…the Pharaoh…he's…something's happened. We have to go." Sethe watched as Zahra stood up from his chair and ran out the door, hoping that Sethe would follow him to the palace. He heard something coming up behind him, but he didn't look back and kept running, all the while hearing the same thing in his head, over and over again, and he couldn't see or hear why it was.

_I have to go…I have to go and see what happened. _

Zahra ran through the doorway to the palace with Sethe just behind him, but both of them stopped as soon as they were close to the center of the throne room, and Zahra stared silently and tried to understand what was happening. The very first thing that he saw was the Pharaoh, on his knees with his face in his hands, and Isis was kneeling just behind him and trying to get him to stand, but he wasn't having any of it. There were two priests standing solemnly in front of the Pharaoh and they were avidly looking elsewhere, as though they knew that they didn't belong.

_I've never seen those priests before…they're dressed differently than the priests here. Where are they from? And what's wrong with the Pharaoh? He's crying…_

Sethe moved suddenly, walking past Zahra and approaching the Pharaoh slowly, eyeing the strange priests suspiciously, and he knelt in front of the Pharaoh and glared at Isis, who had the good sense to back away, although it was begrudgingly. Sethe set his hands on the Pharaoh's shoulders and he looked up suddenly at Sethe and then fell forward, and Sethe held him as he cried. Zahra watched everything happen as though it weren't really happening, and then Sethe glanced up at Zahra and motioned towards the strange priests who stood just behind him, and Zahra moved towards them cautiously, taking care not to look at the priests that he knew, who were awkwardly standing a few feet away from where the Pharaoh and Sethe knelt, looking at one another in fear.

"Excuse me…what's happened?"

The younger of the two priests looked to the older, and then he spoke solemnly.

"Hermopolis is gone."

Zahra looked behind him to see if Sethe heard, and from the wide-eyed look that he gave Zahra, it appeared that he had. He swallowed hard and then turned back to the priests, forcing himself to speak.

"…Gone?"

The younger priest nodded. "We're from the temple of Asar in Abedju, and Hermopolis is less than a day's walk away. It…it must have happened sometime in the night. One day it was there, and the next, it was nothing but ashes."

"We came as soon as we could to tell the Pharaoh of what had happened. It's just the same as Memphis…" The older priest looked at the ground as he spoke. "Heliopolis is now the last sacred city left in Egypt. The last temple to Amun-Ra." Both of them fell silent, looked at one another, and then stepped back from Zahra. Zahra turned slowly, as if in a dream, and watched the Pharaoh as he cried inconsolably, despite Sethe's best efforts. Zahra knew that if Sethe couldn't help him, then no one could, and his single thought was the same as the Pharaohs, which echoed louder in his mind that anything else ever had. Zahra hadn't even thought to read the Pharaohs mind, but the sound of his thoughts was something that Zahra couldn't escape from, and as he realized what was truly wrong, his eyes widened and filled with tears of disbelief.

_Mahado. Mahado was in Hermopolis…and he never came back. _Zahra met Sethe's eyes and they stared silently, Zahra standing motionless and Sethe trying to calm the Pharaoh, and Zahra blinked and then broke their gaze and walked out of the throne room, knowing exactly where he was going before he could even think of it. Sethe didn't follow him, and Zahra didn't want him to. It wasn't something that he wouldn't have been able to do with Sethe watching over him.

Zahra unconsciously held onto to his necklace as he walked through the doorway of the main shrine and lit himself a torch, taking it down the hallways until he reached the darkest of them all, and he strode firmly through the shadows and past the spellroom, pushing open the door to the shrine of Suti confidently, knowing that it wouldn't ever be locked against him. The darkness was deep but he didn't care any longer, and he walked into the room and lit the fire against the back wall, leaving the stick in the flame to burn. He turned and walked across the room, shutting the door behind him, and as soon as he took one last shaky breath he knelt in front of the shrine itself and closed his eyes.

_I'm as ready as I'll ever be…and now, more than ever, I need to remember._

He knew that there were tears on his face, and they weren't going to stop falling anytime soon. He didn't ever bother to try and brush them away. He didn't question what had led him here, and he didn't do anything for a very long couple of moments, collecting himself and trying to wrap at least some of his mind around the situation. That night…had been the night. He was almost positive. But he had to know for sure. He kept his eyes closed and opened his thoughts, reading the shrine in the same way that he read everything else, and he knew that he wasn't alone.

"Mahado is gone." He spoke without thinking, and the first thing that popped into his mind was the silent response he sought, disguised as one of his own thoughts, but it was thought in such a manner that Zahra had never placed his thoughts before, and he knew immediately that it was not his own.

_It isn't a question…he's met his Ka._

"It was my Ba that killed him.

_It was the Lord of Red. _

_Who..._ Zahra took back his thoughts and breathed deeply before he gave them up again. _I'm sure…I need to know._

"Who is the Lord of Red?"

…

There was nothing. No thoughts, and no answers, and Zahra nearly screamed in frustration. Why didn't anyone have the answer to that question? It seemed as though he had asked it a million times to a million different people, and each answer was just as different and just as cryptic. And now, the one person who should have known more than anyone wasn't going to answer. He frowned and spoke loudly, knowing that this was his last resort.

"Who is he…is it me? Did I do all those horrible things? Am I the one responsible for everything? Tell me…no one will tell me."

_No one can tell me who I am. _

Zahra nearly gasped aloud, but he knew what was meant by it and he knew what to say in response. "No one can…but I know already."

_Try it again._

Zahra bit his lip and held back a sob. "I am the Lord of Red."

_Of course I am. There wasn't ever any doubt. _

"But…I did not do those things."

_That much is clear. I wouldn't ever do a thing like that. I know who I am._

"But…" Zahra kept his eyes closed, afraid of what he might have seen had he opened them, and he continued. "But if I didn't do them…"

_Then who did?_

Zahra had no clue. "I've never been able to call out my Ba. But didn't Sethe say that-"

_That there were others who could._

"Sethe is one of them…but there must be more. But can they draw from anyone, at anytime?"

_Not from me. The Lord of Red is more than just Ba. He cannot be called out without this._

Zahra lost his balance for a second and he caught an image of something in his mind, keeping his eyes closed as he looked at it and steadied himself on his knees. It was something that he had never see before, and although he didn't understand what it was, he knew that he would see it soon enough.

_Soon enough…the one who holds it is near. And in his grasp lies the end of Egypt._

Zahra's breath caught in his throat, and he frowned into the darkness. The end…of Egypt? But that would be the end of everything. "No…it can't be. This can't be the end. I don't understand."

_There isn't anything to misunderstand. There was a beginning, and now there is an end. It is the same with all things. The Book of Hours is closing, and nothing will remain. _

"But…but why now?"

_Memphis…Hermopolis…they are both gone. Out of all three sacred cities, only one is left standing. As soon as Heliopolis falls, Egypt will follow. And so will I, and everyone else who lives in the Black Land. _

There had to be some other way. Zahra refused to accept it. "But what about Sethe? I won't let him go."

_He won't let me go. He will choose his end, just as selfishly as I will. The fate of Egypt is in his hands, but he will choose me instead. _

The end of Sethe…Zahra's tears fell freshly through his closed lids, and his head hung low, knowing that there most likely wasn't a way to fight this, the will of the god that he was bound to. "…Please…I don't care…about Egypt. I only want to keep Sethe. Isn't there any way that I can have that? I would destroy Egypt myself, if it meant that I could hold on to him forever."

There was only silence at first, and Zahra held his breath and waited for an answer. Let Egypt fall…Zahra had no connection to it anyhow. He didn't even belong there, and neither did Sethe. Why should they have to fall for its sake?

…_You may have this. _Zahra's mind cleared in that moment and he saw the exact form and path for a spell, a spell that he knew he was capable of performing. In that second he knew what the spell would do, and what it meant, and he smiled briefly and took it, along with the Heka that was offered.

_Only this Heka will do. Without it, you won't be able to cast the spell, since your Ba will leave you tonight for the last time. To cast this spell would be a mistake…but you will cast it anyway. _

Zahra nodded his head. It was all that he had. He had no control over anything, not even himself or his Ba, but even if it killed him he would keep the only thing that he had ever wanted. He might not have ever been allowed to control his own life, but he would choose his death, and whatever came afterwards, as well. "How much time is left?"

_It has already begun. The one who holds the key is in the palace. _

The one who controlled Zahra's Ba was already there. There was no time left…Zahra clenched his fists and steadied his mouth, determined to stay strong, if only just this once. There wasn't anything he wanted more than to just let Sethe fix everything for him. But that wasn't possible, and there wasn't anything left to fix. And in just a short while, there wouldn't be anything left at all. Was it something that he wanted, to know how and when he was going to die? Perhaps not…but then, he could be sure to tell Sethe everything he needed to say…if he got the chance. He realized that he needed to leave.

"Who is it…who is controlling my Ba? What does he want with it?"

_He wants what is, the end of Egypt. The leader of the Shemsu-Suti from the Red Lands, a descendant of the ones cast out of Egypt long ago. They have been waiting for you to be born, clinging to the anger of the Old Kingdom. He will have his way, and take revenge on the followers of Amun-Ra. _

"Who…who is right and who is wrong?" Zahra knew everything there was to know about the situation, and yet he still hadn't found the answer to that. It was something that had been lying underneath the face of Egypt since it had begun, and it seemed foolish almost, at least to Zahra, that something so full and rich should come to such a petty end. And who was to blame…? The Shemsu-Suti? Or the Shemsu-Amun-Ra? If it was the Shemsu-Suti, that would mean that everyone around Sethe and Zahra had been correct, and they were undeserving of the life that they led. But they hadn't ever done a thing wrong to anyone, ever, and bore a burden that had been given to them by names and faces that they had never met, being long since dead. But if it was the Shemsu-Amun-Ra, that would only make people like Mahado responsible…and that didn't make any sense, either. Why couldn't it all just be forgotten? The Red Lands and the Black Lands…why couldn't it just be Egypt?

_Everything is right, and everyone is wrong. Their quarrel is only a means to the end. A kingdom built on betrayal will surely fall, no matter how powerful it becomes. The foundations of Egypt began to crumble the moment that the gods learned what it was to hate one another…and that fault lies in each of them. It will all be forgotten soon…but you will remember. And so will Sethe…if you cast that spell. _

"I will…the moment that I have the chance." Zahra shifted on his knees, knowing that things were happening somewhere without him, and that Sethe was there, waiting for him. "I have to go."

_You do…and you should. But don't forget…Sethe still does not know, but he will know before everything falls apart. You can't keep it from him any longer. _

"I know. But he will love me, regardless."

_He will. And he will play my part, as you have played the Lord of Red, and he will turn his back on Amun-Ra, just as I did. You never told him how the story ended, but he will learn it on his own. Everything is better this way…this dissension has gone on long enough. Will you end it?_

"…I'll try…" Zahra knew in his heart that he did not want to. He wanted to forget what he knew…until he realized that it would mean to forget Sethe, as well, and he opened his eyes and found himself kneeling in the center of an empty shrine. He had forgotten where he was. He stood up silently and wondered if it had all been just him, thinking to himself, but he was almost positive that it as impossible. He hadn't been aware of all that.

_Well…it doesn't matter. Whatever happens now…Sethe can't take it away. And neither can I. No one is going to see tomorrow…but if I use this spell, I can take Sethe with me, no matter where I go in death. _Zahra swallowed hard at the thought, and pushed open the door to the shrine, shutting down the various parts of his mind that screamed at him to run for Sethe in a blind panic, to deny what he had heard, or to simply run, as he had run all the way here. But even then, he had admitted the truth to himself, on that very day that he had escaped and met Sethe in the temple entryway. He had known that this was the last place left for him, and if he couldn't stay here, then he would most certainly die. He had only prolonged the inevitable…and the time that he had bought with his actions was short. But it had been worth it. The mere months that he had lived in the temple were worth infinitely more than the seventeen years that he had spent wandering aimlessly in servitude, not knowing what he was or whom he loved. No…everything was better this way. Zahra had no idea how it was that he was able to stay so calm as he left the room and walked back towards the palace, but he knew that it wouldn't last. He wasn't strong, and he wasn't selfless, and he was going to cast that spell.

* * *

AN: Second to last chapter, up...I feel so sad. It's so over...but hey...oh...I've got nothing. It's real sad. There's nothing for it. For those of you who read Clear Vision (btw, sorry for that. All I can do is sincerely hope that I have somewhat improved as a writer since then...it was a LONG time ago...yeah. I can't make up for it. Oh, but anyway, for those of you who have read Clear Vision, you know what the spell is, so that sort of blows. But remember the dream? The dream that Joey had, that made him remember all of this? It finally happens. One more chapter. Let me know what you're thinking. It means something. Hey, maybe tonight, you'll have a dream, and remember your past life. If you do, you have to tell me all about it. It sounds fascinating.

Aigh...so sleepy. Review...if you wish. It's quite helpful to see how all of this affects you, or does not affect you...you see where i'm going with this.


	11. Per Neheh

Asylum

By Katsuya Kaiba

* * *

Zahra could hear the sound of yelling before he had even made it down the hall, and by the time he reached the open doorway that led into the palace he knew that the voice he heard belonged to no one that he knew. He picked his feet up and ran, hoping that he still had time, that there was still a chance to speak to Sethe. He didn't care what this person was here for, knowing that it was for him. He ran through the doorway and into the throne room, across the long floor and towards Sethe, who was watching someone that Zahra had never seen before, and as Zahra turned his head to look at who it was he saw what he held in his hands and his eyes widened. 

_There it is…that's what he used to draw out the Lord of Red. _Zahra looked at the man briefly and knew what he was instantly. _He is Shemsu-Suti…his hair is even lighter than mine is. _Zahra met his eyes briefly and his eyes grew large as he quieted suddenly and watched Zahra run into the room.

"That's him…" He might have spoken it or he may have just thought it, but Zahra heard it and knew what the man meant, and he ran faster, looking away and calling out.

"Sethe!" Sethe looked up just in time for Zahra to collide with him, but he was quick to react and he caught Zahra. Sethe only held him briefly before pushing him away. The other priests stood all around Sethe, and they watched the man who had broken into the temple warily, not sparing a glance for Zahra.

"Zahra, go back inside the temple." Sethe's voice was stern and he gave Zahra a serious look, but he didn't know what Zahra knew and Zahra had to tell him, but the stranger spoke before he could get a word out, and Zahra grabbed onto Sethe in fear, watching as he laughed loudly from where he stood near the entrance to the palace.

"Of all the places that I could think of to look for you…this would have been the last." He took a step forward, staring directly at Zahra as he moved, and Zahra could see the long scar that ran across his cheek and he flinched, knowing that he had been recognized. How this man had known, he couldn't say, but he held the key in his hands, the thing that Zahra had been shown in the shrine, and he lifted it slightly and Zahra gasped and held on tighter to Sethe. As soon as Sethe realized that Zahra was the one being spoken to he stood upright and pushed Zahra back, his face dissolving into anger, where before it had just been confusion, and he spoke loudly.

"Look…I don't know who you are or how you got in here, but this ends now." He took a deep breath and stepped forward, but before he could do a thing the leader of the Shemsu-Suti spoke again, this time to Sethe and no other.

"It most certainly does. This is the end for all of you…including you, Pharaoh." He smiled and pointed back at the throne, where the Pharaoh sat anxiously and watched, protected by the line of priests before him. "I think I speak for all of the Shemsu-Suti when I say that this exile has gone on for long enough." His cool smile went bitter and he glared at the Pharaoh, evidently holding him responsible for the wrongs he had come to avenge. "This is your fault…you and your tyrannical god. My people have been living in the Red Lands for hundreds of years, starving and dying for a crime that we never committed. But now, he's finally been reborn…" He glanced over at Zahra over Sethe's shoulder and smiled, "and I'm the only one who can control him."

"What are you talking about? Zahra is nothing to you!" Sethe seemed to have had quite enough of his ranting, and he took a step forward and started yelling at the stranger. "How can you say you know who he is? Zahra…" Sethe turned around quickly and glanced at Zahra, who was watching the proceedings from behind Sethe. "What is he talking about?"

Zahra stared at Sethe and opened his mouth, trying to think of what the right thing to say was. He breathed in deep and then closed his mouth, and before he could reopen it the other Shemsu-Suti spoke again.

"You know what you are. Tell him…" Zahra glanced over at him briefly and saw him smile, "…tell him, before I show him."

"Sethe…I…I love you." Sethe blinked and then frowned, and he looked back quickly at the leader of the Shemsu-Suti, but he was only watching amusedly, and Sethe glared at him before turning back to face Zahra. Zahra didn't have the time to wonder why he was being given this opportunity, but he took it gladly, and stepped close to Sethe and kissed him on the lips. Zahra could feel the eyes of everyone in the room on them but he didn't care; they would all be dead soon, anyhow. Sethe kissed him back for a few moments, but then pulled away, leaving his hands on Zahra's shoulders.

"Zahra…" Sethe frowned, not understanding what was happening, and wondering why Zahra was playing along with whoever it was that had broken into the palace and stormed into the throne room, slinging insults and threats at the Pharaoh. He had heard what he said about the Red Lands and feared the worst, but for the moment all he was concerned with was Zahra, and what he knew. "What…what's going on? Who is this?"

"He's…he's the leader of the Shemsu-Suti, and he's come to destroy Heliopolis. He destroyed Memphis…and Hermopolis."

"But…no." Sethe blinked and his eyes unfocused for a moment. "No, he can't be. I remember someone else."

Zahra shook his head. "He was responsible. Sethe…" Sethe frowned and Zahra took his hands, seeing out of the corner of his eyes that he had the attention of the entire room. "He told me…everything."

"Who told you?"

Zahra closed his eyes and lowered his voice. "…Suti." Sethe's eyes widened and he opened his mouth, but a voice came from behind them sooner than he could speak.

"So he doesn't know who you are…" The leader of the Shemsu-Suti broke in the conversation and spoke amusedly. "Or what you've done."

Zahra was instantly angry at the accusation, and he stared furiously at the man and spoke louder than he normally did, feeling terrified at the thought. "No! I didn't destroy Memphis! Sethe!" Zahra looked back to Sethe and pleaded with him, desperate to convince him of the truth before this awful man could tell him otherwise. "I wouldn't ever do that! Please, believe me…" The tears threatened to spill, but Zahra held them off and watched Sethe's face, which was far more than confused. Everyone else around them was quiet, either too confused or too afraid to intervene. The intruder didn't even appear to have a weapon, and posed a small threat that Sethe could instantly stop with his Ba, being the only priest able to draw it out at will.

"Zahra…" Sethe shook his head and held on tighter to Zahra's hands, searching for an answer. "…I don't understand." Zahra's tears fell at last, and he held on to Sethe's gaze with his own and didn't dare to look away as he told Sethe what he meant, what he was and what he'd done…been forced to do.

"I am…" Zahra blinked and tears ran down his face, and Sethe lifted a hand to brush them away. "I am the Lord of Red."

Sethe froze with his hand on Zahra's cheek, and Zahra watched his eyes as they dilated slightly and widened, but the changes were so small that he was sure that only he could see them. Isis made an odd noise off to his right, but all of his attention was on Sethe at the moment, who simply stood still and stared at Zahra. He closed his eyes suddenly and let go of both of Zahra's hands, stepping back slightly. Zahra sobbed aloud, scared that Sethe was angry with him, and he spoke suddenly and without thinking.

"Sethe…" Sethe opened his eyes and the pain and confusion in his face had somehow disappeared, and when he spoke his voice was firm and quiet.

"No…you aren't. It isn't possible." He reached out and took Zahra's hands again, pulling him close and Zahra pressed his face against Sethe's chest and cried. He wouldn't believe.

"Oh, no?" That loud and sarcastic voice sounded from behind them. "See for yourself." Zahra looked over just in time to see him lift his hand and point the item at Zahra, and he immediately felt that sound inside of him, the sound of something calling, just as he had heard nights ago. The night that Hermopolis had fallen. He slipped through Sethe's grasp but Sethe caught him and kneeled, and although Zahra found that he could barely move his body he was able to keep his eyes open this time, and as Sethe laid him on the floor carefully he felt the Heka that had been given to him coursing all throughout him, and he knew that it was the only thing keeping him awake.

Zahra watched as Sethe looked far off, to the other side of the room, and Zahra heard an awful sound, a tearing scream that shook the walls of the palace itself, and he knew that his Ba had left him, and he held on to the Heka and kept himself awake. He didn't even turn to look to see the Lord of Red, he could hear it and feel it all around him and it was terrifying. Isis screamed and the other priests backed away slightly and Zahra couldn't see their feet anymore from where he lay, and he watched Sethe as he looked off at the dragon and knew that it was the truth.

"You…" Sethe spoke to nothing and no one, whispering under his breath and then standing up suddenly, struck by an oddly timed moment of fury. He stared at the intruder and then yelled, out of anger and to be heard over the constant shaking of stone that was nearly deafening. "You stole his Ba!"

"Sethe!" Sethe paused and turned to look, finding the Pharaoh standing not far behind him, and Zahra could see him and wondered why he was not running. The palace wasn't safe, and the shaking would soon cause serious damage, irreparable damage that the Lord of Red would only aggravate with the fire. Zahra had seen what a city looked like under his attack, and he knew how it would end.

The Pharaoh had a stricken look on his face, and the skin on his cheeks was still streaked with the tears he had shed for Mahado. The other priests were trying to pull him back, but he stood still and pushed them off, facing Sethe intently. Sethe faced him and then looked down to be sure that Zahra was alright before returning his gaze to the Pharaoh.

"Sethe…call out your Ba!"

Sethe only shook his head slowly and called out his response. "My Ba is nothing compared to this. This…the Lord of Red is a god himself. The only way to stop him is to kill his …" Sethe looked down at Zahra, who forced himself to sit up somewhat and stared back, understanding.

_If Sethe kills me…then he might save Egypt. I had no idea…My Ba leaves in the moment that I die. I remember that now. If I were to die, right now, then the Lord of Red will die, and Heliopolis will remain…if it happens soon. This palace can't stand the pressure…it's still shaking far too much. But…I don't want to die._

Zahra stared up at Sethe, knowing what he was thinking, but also remembering what he had learned in the shrine, and he knew then that Sethe would not save Egypt.

_He won't let me go. He will choose his end, just as selfishly as I will. The fate of Egypt is in his hands, but he will choose me instead… And he will play my part, as you have played the Lord of Red, and he will turn his back on Amun-Ra, just as I did_

"Sethe…what are you doing?" The Pharaoh yelled at him over the echoing sounds of breaking stone that rose with each second, and Zahra could feel that there wasn't much longer left. He felt so tired, but he kept himself aware with the Heka, and slowly pushed himself off the ground and onto his feet, standing up and staring at Sethe, who stared at the Pharaoh in disbelief. "What are you waiting for?" The Pharaoh pointed over to Zahra, and Sethe looked over briefly, but refused to meet Zahra's eyes. "He destroyed your entire life! He killed Mahado…" The Pharaoh closed his eyes and swallowed hard before continuing. "Sethe! If Heliopolis falls…everything will. And it will be your fault…and the fault of your people."

Zahra fell back to his knees, finding that he wasn't able to stand on his own, and Sethe saw him do it but didn't move to help him. He only stared, and Zahra stared back in sheer agony, afraid for Sethe and afraid for himself. He felt heat, there was a fire somewhere close by, but he was too dizzy to turn his head and look, but he didn't need to look to see what color it was. Stone would never burn, not without divine fire.

"You…you don't care." The Pharaoh stared at Sethe, who turned back to face him wordlessly. "Fine…but I won't stand by and watch you turn your back on Egypt." Zahra looked up just in time to see the Pharaoh moving towards him, and he tried to move away but he only fell backwards and on his back, and he tried to push himself away quick enough but Sethe moved suddenly and crossed into his path.

"Atemu…stop." He did stop, just in front of Sethe, and Zahra tried to keep his eyes in focus and watched as Sethe blocked the Pharaoh, and Zahra saw that everything was happening, just as it had before the old kingdom. It was the same story, all over again, the story that Egypt was founded on. The same actions that had brought it into power were now destroying it, and the Pharaoh stared up at Sethe and knew that there wasn't a thing that he could do to force Sethe to kill Zahra. It just wasn't going to happen.

"But…I trusted you…regardless of what you were. I…I gave you that temple. Don't tell me that it doesn't matter."

"I never said that. But Zahra, he…" Sethe paused and glanced at Zahra, holding himself up by his arms and staring in horror. "Zahra means more than any of it. I'm sorry…I won't do it. I won't kill him."

The Pharaoh glared at Sethe in a panicked rage, ignoring the fire that began to eat at the walls all around them. "If it wasn't for Zahra, Memphis would still be here…your family would still be here. If it weren't for Zahra-"

"If it weren't for Zahra, I wouldn't even care! Don't you understand? It's because of him that any of this matters to me at all!" Sethe shook his head and turned his back on the Pharaoh, walking towards Zahra with downcast eyes and kneeling beside him on the floor. The Pharaoh watched him as he did it, and then turned with tears in his eyes and ran. Zahra didn't watch him to see where he ran to, knowing that it didn't matter much. No one would leave Heliopolis. Zahra had seen it before, in Sethe's dream. It would be just the same, and Sethe knew it as well, because he took his time as he slipped his arms underneath Zahra's neck and knees, lifting him up slowly and standing on his feet. Zahra stared at his eyes, and Sethe looked back calmly, and then he walked slowly back across the palace and through the doorway into the temple. There was no sign of the leader of the Shemsu-Suti, and Zahra thought that he must have escaped long ago, knowing what was to come. Perhaps he had remained, and perhaps not, but Sethe and Zahra were alone in the temple, the only two people in Heliopolis who knew that there was no way out.

Zahra lifted his arms slowly and held on to Sethe's neck, and he leaned his head back against his shoulder and closed his eyes, wondering what would become of the Lord of Red after he was gone. It didn't matter, his purpose was fulfilled, and he wasn't needed any longer. All three sacred cities were gone, or nearly so. The temple was burning, as well, and Zahra could see it and hear it and smell it, but he tried his best to relax and to save the strength that he had. Sethe carried Zahra back to his bedroom, which was strangely quiet compared to where they had been minutes ago. The sound of the chaos was barely audible, and Sethe laid Zahra down on the bed and then sat beside him and stared silently, moving some of Zahra's bangs away from his eyes.

"You know…" Sethe began, and then paused, unsure of what he was saying. "I think that I know how the story ends. Remember that story I told you, the one about what truly happened between Suti and Amun-Ra?" Zahra nodded and smiled. "I used to think that if I knew what it was that he loved so much, that I would know something worth knowing. Something that would fix what I was, and make it alright. But I don't think that way anymore."

"…What is it, then?"

"I don't think that it matters what Suti loved so much…what's important is that he knew that he did. He knew how much he loved it…and he did what he had to do to keep it close. I never saw that…until just now. But I suppose that it doesn't matter." Zahra had been crying for what felt like forever, but his tears were renewed when he saw Sethe's first sliding down his face.

"Sethe…I'm so sorry." Zahra reached up shakily and brushed the tear from Sethe's face, and Sethe closed his eyes and shook his head.

"No…I don't want that." He took Zahra's hand from his face and held it in his own. "How do you feel? Your Ba is gone…I'm surprised you're still awake." He smiled and brought Zahra's hand up to his mouth and kissed his palm, and Zahra could feel his tears running off of his face and onto the skin of his hand.

"Sethe-"

"Zahra…promise me something." Sethe's face was frozen in fear all of a sudden, and Zahra nodded his head silently. "Please…don't forget me. Promise me we'll find each other again…please…"

Zahra smiled at him and knew that it was alright, for him to die and for him to cast the spell. Sethe had never looked so frightened before, and Zahra couldn't ever remember a time that he had known Sethe to be afraid of something. He reached out and Sethe took his hands, and he pulled himself up into a sitting position and wrapped his arms around Sethe, closing his eyes and whispering in his ear, and he heard Sethe's breath hitch as he spoke.

"I swear to you, no matter what, I will find you, and I will never let you go. Even if we are sworn and hated enemies, I will make you see the truth. You cannot escape me." Sethe laughed shakily, ignoring the fire that was now visible from the doorway and ever creeping forward. "Hold still…and just breathe." Sethe nodded against Zahra 's shoulder and held him upright with his arms, and Zahra relaxed everything in his body and forgot about where they were, and how close the fire was, and he thought back to the spell that he had been given. It was like nothing else he had ever tried to cast, but he knew that he could do it. He felt that he was powerful enough, even without the Lord of Red, the one who was responsible for everything that Zahra had ever accomplished in the temple, save his reading. He didn't need the Lord of Red, not when it came to Sethe. He was strong enough on his own.

There was no need to draw Heka from anything, since he had all that he would ever need right inside of him, holding his head up and keeping him alive without his Ba. He let it go, not allowing it to rush forth as it wanted to but instead guiding a thin crimson trail of it out of him and trailing it all around both he and Sethe, binding them together in a ribbon of blood red Heka. He whispered words that he didn't know, and Sethe's muscles tightened as he listened, but he still held tightly to Zahra and held him up as he let the last of his energy go.

"Iui em hotep amit

I-kua kher ten em ab merut

Ankh ek qendet em tu-ek senenti tu em meri-ek…"

Zahra took a deep breath and then shuddered, feeling so tired, and the heat was closing in all around him, but he couldn't stop to think about it. He had to finish the spell.

"Meriu: iu ankh en-ek em hotep nefer uret

Nuk sa he-ef."

Zahra gasped and tried to grasp Sethe's shoulder, but he hadn't expected to fall so deeply after the spell was finished. But he had done it, and now he and Sethe wouldn't ever be apart. It would be impossible not to find one another again, and Zahra closed his eyes and smiled.

"Zahra…?" Sethe felt his body give out suddenly and laid him back against the bed, and Zahra opened his eyes and found Sethe looking panicked, surrounded by the blue fire that was just as blue as his eyes were, and Zahra stared at the similarity and smiled as brightly as he could.

"Oh…I love you. But…I thought that this fire wouldn't burn you." Zahra remembered in a far off sort of way how Sethe had escaped the city of Memphis. Sethe leaned in closer, aware of the fire that was eating up the walls only steps away, but he paid it no mind and answered Zahra.

"I know why that was. It wouldn't burn me because I was afraid to die then."

"…Aren't you afraid to die now?"

Sethe smiled. "Of course not. I'm afraid of what might happen if I don't. Your spell…was beautiful."

"…It was a gift, from someone who knew what it was like." Zahra pulled Sethe down on the bed alongside him by his hand, and Sethe followed him down and lay beside him. Zahra was so tired, and without his Ba he was barely able to keep himself alive, but he shifted so that he lay on Sethe's shoulder, and Sethe pulled him closer as the flames crept around the edge of the bed.

"Ana bahebek, hereret…"

Zahra smiled and closed his eyes. He couldn't keep them open any longer, but he remembered the feel of Sethe's hand in his hair and breathed slowly as Sethe ran his fingers through his bangs and kept them out of his face. Sethe leaned in and kissed Zahra's forehead, and Zahra sleepily clutched at Sethe's sleeve with his fingers, slipping into unconsciousness. Zahra fell asleep and he did not wake up, but he did not forget, either. He remembered everything.

* * *

And...that's it, my gentle friend. Enter Clear Vision, I guess. 

BTW so sorry for the long-ness between updates, but I'm, um...getting married, if you can believe it. I know, that's what I said. Thank you all so much for your reviews, I still go back and read them all every now and then. Thanks also to Sethe and Zahra, just for being who they are, and to Suti, for teaching me things that were lost and impossible for me to know otherwise.

I'm sad that it's finished, but I've never been happier than when I was writing this.


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